STAG BEETLE

also called Pinching Bug, any member of the approximately 900 species of the insect family Lucanidae (order Coleoptera). The mandibles (jaws) are greatly developed in the male and resemble the antlers of a stag. In many species the elaborately branched and toothed mandibles may be as long as the beetle itself; their pinch usually draws blood from a person. In some cases, however, the mandibles are large enough to be a handicap. Stag beetles are robust and black or brown; they are attracted to lights at night. Paintings of a few brightly coloured species have been used on postage stamps: Chaisognathus granti from Chile is metallic green and iridescent red; Phalacrognathus muelleri from Australia is metallic carmine and edged with green. Adult stag beetles range between 8 and 40 millimetres (1/3 to 1 2/3 inches) in length, although the male of the East Indian Odontolabis alces is more than 100 mm long. The male giraffe stag beetle (Cladognathus giraffa) of India and Java is almost as long, and its jaws make up about half of its total length. Most stag beetles live around rotting logs; they feed on sap.