The Essex Naturalist
79
The stag beetle Lucanus cervus L. (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)
in north-east Essex:
Results of the 1996 Colchester "Search for Stag Beetles" survey
Jerry Bowdrey
Museum Resource Centre 14, Ryegate Road, Colchester CO1 1YG.
Summary
The results of a 1996 survey into the distribution of the stag beetle Lucanus
cervus in north-east Essex (the recording area of Colchester Museums and the
Colchester Natural History Society, including Colchester, Tendring and
Braintree) are presented. The beetle was found to be widely distributed across
the area, with a few loci of particular abundance, mainly in suburban
Colchester. In addition to distributional data, information on many other
aspects of stag beetle ecology and behaviour was obtained. Suggestions for
conservation of the stag beetle are given.
Introduction
The stag beetle is a species which has long been associated with the Borough of
Colchester, adult insects being a familiar sight to the public, even in the town
centre. Despite the popular belief that stag beetles were quite common in the
area, Colchester Museums Biological Record Centre had comparatively few
records with full data for the species. The national distribution is given by
Donisthorpe (1941), Hall (1964) and Clark (1966) and at a local level a survey
of stag beetles in north-east Essex was carried out in 1963 and 1964 by J.T.
Clark (Clark, 1964, 1965). Whilst these reports give valuable historic
distributional information, it was felt that the present distribution of L. cervus in
north-east Essex was inadequately known and coupled with the growing local
interest in biodiversity and a desire internationally to identify and conserve stag
beetle populations, it was decided to attempt a survey of the Borough's stag
beetle population. Furthermore, the striking and unique appearance of the adult
insect made it the ideal subject for a project to involve the general public. It was
felt that with such a distinctive species, the use of non-specialists would not
compromise the scientific value of such a survey, and that the information
obtained would be of value in enabling the status of the stag beetle in north-east
Essex to be reassessed and possible conservation measures undertaken, if this
proved necessary. Equally important was a raising of public awareness of the
importance of this spectacular component of the local fauna, our largest British
beetle.
Five thousand copies of a leaflet were printed, giving details on stag beetle
identification and with a tear-off form for recording stag beetle sightings and
other observations. This was sent to members of local natural history societies
(1200 copies) and made available at libraries, council offices and other public