Dybowski's stag beetle is a large stag beetle of cool mountain oak forests in Korea, China, and the Russian Far East. You won't find it in the wild in the US. Males are easy to recognize by the ear-like flaps that stick out from the back of the head.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Males measure about 1.7–2.8 in (43–70 mm) including the jaws, and females about 0.9–1.7 in (23–44 mm). In males, the ear-like flaps behind the head sweep backward with rounded tips, and there is no obvious bump in the middle of the head.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Mountain oak forests
- Range
- Korea, China, and the Amur region and Primorye of far eastern Russia. A subspecies lives in the mountains of Taiwan. It does not occur in North America.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults feed mainly on oak sap.
- Activity
- In Korea, adults are out from June to September. They are active at night and often fly to lights.
Life cycle
- Larva
- Larvae grow in moist, well-rotted oak logs and take about 2–3 years to become adults.
Name and classification
- About the name
- It was long treated as a subspecies of the Miyama stag beetle of Japan (Lucanus maculifemoratus). A monograph on the stag beetles of China raised it to a full species, and most recent catalogs follow that, though not every expert agrees.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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