How to Raise Stag Beetles? Detailed Guide to Care and Precautions

Insects of the family Lucanidae, also known as stag beetles, are large, oblong beetles, mostly black or brown, with a metallic sheen and a hard shell; the males have large, prominent mandibles shaped like deer antlers, a large and strong head, and geniculate antennae. So how do you raise stag beetles?

1. First, you need a box or jar for keeping them, and it must stay ventilated and cool. Then spread about five centimeters of wood shavings on the bottom of the box, put in a few pieces of wood (stag beetles like to lay their eggs in wood), and place the stag beetles you caught inside. Note that male stag beetles will fight each other, so you can only put in one male; you can put in 1 or 2 females.

2. You can feed them with sweet-and-sour jelly, jam and fruit, and do not let the fruit rot. Adult stag beetles live for 1 to 2 years. If all the stag beetles you are keeping die, pay attention to whether they have laid eggs; as long as there are small holes in the wood, it means eggs have been laid.

3. Then, when the wood and wood shavings dry out, sprinkle some water to keep them moist, so the larvae can grow properly. After the larvae grow up inside the wood and become adults, they will come out to forage, and by then you will be able to see stag beetles again.