Getting ready for bed the other night, the kitties went nuts! The noise of a small helicopter was clattering on the porch as something kept hitting the patio door! Always curious, I looked out to see something dark hit the door and then fall to the porch.

I ran out to find a stag beetle that had knocked itself out against the glass. Wow! The porch light is what attracted this specimen to my porch so I could enjoy some nature up close and personal.

I picked it up and brought it into the house. Upon inspection I was fascinated by its clubbed antennae, its huge mandibles which look like antlers, and the marvelous appearance — shiny reddish brown to nearly black hard exoskeleton. The stunned beetle soon came to and crawled all over my hand, and it had claws on its feet that really held on. I was afraid I would hurt it.

Hence, this article.

All beetles have chewing mouthparts, hardened front wing covers called elytra, that give a straight line to the folded wings. Their long legs give rise to claws for holding. Three are 30 stag beetles species in the U.S., with most (two-thirds) out west.

Stag beetles go through complete metamorphosis – egg, larva, pupa and adult. After mating the female beetle lays her eggs under the bark of a stump, dead or fallen tree. Larvae hatch and begin to chew into the tree for the juices.

As they grow it might take years for maturity, with adult males emerging in early summer to mate. With their huge mandibles, males fight each other to mate with females. They live 1 to 2 years. They can be up to 2 inches in size.

These slow-moving herbivores (plant eaters) are a vital part of forest ecosystems as they break down and recycle wood.

They should not be harmed, and their only predators are birds, spiders, toads, raccoons and skunks. They are not pests!

After taking pictures of my discovery, I let it go in our backyard with wood piles so it could have some protection and it could keep on eating. The adults don’t feed on wood like the larva. Entomologists believe they eat the honeydew of aphids, sap from trees and leaves. If you want to find some beetles, you’ll most likely find them under wood piles or dead limbs in the forest. And, from time to time — they’ll come to your porch light.

For photos and more about this insect, go to https://go.osu.edu/stagbeetles