Golden stag beetle of the stag beetle or Lucanidae family is indigenous throughout Australia. Its metallic golden or yellowish-golden color gives the beetle its name.
Size: 15 – 25 mm (0.59 – 0.98 inches)
Color: The males have a metallic golden-green or golden-yellow hue, while the females could be bluish-green, blue or even dull brown.
Other Characteristic Features: The sexual dimorphism is visible even when it comes to the characteristic features since females appear smaller than their male counterparts. On the other hand, the males have enlarged mandibles, prolonged in the front, like other members of their family.
The larvae of golden stag beetles, like other stag beetle species too has a smooth skin with pale orangish head and brown jaws. They spend most of the larval stage in the rotten tree trunks or dead wood.
The pupal stage takes occur in the larva’s habitat, after which it matures into an adult.
The eggs approximately 2 – 3 mm long (0.07 – 0.11 inches) are laid near the rotten or dead wood during late summer.
| Other Names | Christmas beetle |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Distribution | Throughout Australia |
| Habitat | In an around their host plants, Acacia, and Eucalyptus |
| Common Predators | Birds like the crow and kestrel alongcol3 cats and foxes |
| Seasons active from | May – August |
| Host Plants | Acacia and Eucalyptus |
| Diet of larvae and adults | Larvae: Mostly dead wood since they are sapro-xylophagous Adults: Do not feed |
It is the larva that feed on the dead roots as the adults do not eat at all. However, they are not known to be extensive diggers, hence the damage to the plants is also minimum.
Image Source: brisbaneinsects.com, live.staticflickr.com, images.squarespace-cdn.com, upload.wikimedia.org, i.pinimg.com
Golden stag beetle of the stag beetle or Lucanidae family is indigenous throughout Australia. Its metallic golden or yellowish-golden color gives the beetle its name.
Size: 15 – 25 mm (0.59 – 0.98 inches)
Color: The males have a metallic golden-green or golden-yellow hue, while the females could be bluish-green, blue or even dull brown.
Other Characteristic Features: The sexual dimorphism is visible even when it comes to the characteristic features since females appear smaller than their male counterparts. On the other hand, the males have enlarged mandibles, prolonged in the front, like other members of their family.
The larvae of golden stag beetles, like other stag beetle species too has a smooth skin with pale orangish head and brown jaws. They spend most of the larval stage in the rotten tree trunks or dead wood.
The pupal stage takes occur in the larva’s habitat, after which it matures into an adult.
The eggs approximately 2 – 3 mm long (0.07 – 0.11 inches) are laid near the rotten or dead wood during late summer.
| Other Names | Christmas beetle |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Distribution | Throughout Australia |
| Habitat | In an around their host plants, Acacia, and Eucalyptus |
| Common Predators | Birds like the crow and kestrel alongcol3 cats and foxes |
| Seasons active from | May – August |
| Host Plants | Acacia and Eucalyptus |
| Diet of larvae and adults | Larvae: Mostly dead wood since they are sapro-xylophagous Adults: Do not feed |
It is the larva that feed on the dead roots as the adults do not eat at all. However, they are not known to be extensive diggers, hence the damage to the plants is also minimum.
Image Source: brisbaneinsects.com, live.staticflickr.com, images.squarespace-cdn.com, upload.wikimedia.org, i.pinimg.com
