Stag beetle  (Lucanus cervus)

As the beetle grubs take so long to develop, they become extremely vulnerable to tree clearance and the 'tidying up' of wood in parks and especially gardens; the over-zealous tidying of dead timber and stumps is thought to be the chief reason why this spectacular beetle seems to be in decline; although facts about its true status are still unclear. Elsewhere, there may also be a threat caused by the collection of the beetles for sale; to date no evidence of such a trade has been found in the UK. There are a number of websites that offer specimens for sale in the US for about $10 per animal. Whether they are collected from the wild or bred for the purpose is not clear, but if it does occur this practice is probably limited to European countries.

The stag beetle is listed as a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP), and is included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme. The People's Trust for Endangered Species is leading a number of programmes to raise the profile of this insect, and have now organised two national surveys to find out more about stag beetle distribution and behaviour and encourage the public to become more sympathetic towards them; the huge response to the first PTES survey suggests that the beetles now have an enthusiastic fan club who may lobby local authorities and owners of large gardens to 'spare that rotten tree!'

With regard to the fear that trade in the insects might present a threat, the PTES lobbied the government's advisors and, since April 1998, the stag beetle has been protected under Schedule 5, Section 9.5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which means that all trade in the species is illegal and those suspected of trading in the species can be prosecuted.