Pest Exterminators & Rodent Services in Navesink, NJ

Every so often, pest control technicians stumble upon an interesting insect while doing their job. On this particular day in Navesink, NJ, I not only  spotted an impressive stag beetle, but managed to get its picture as well, which I’m excited to share. Stag beetles are also known as horse pinchers, thunder beetles, and oak ox. In Japan and England, these bugs are so admired that rearing stag beetles is a popular hobby and you can even buy stag beetle breeding and rearing kits. 

Stag beetles are so-named because the male’s large jaws look just like the antlers of a stag (a male deer). These over-sized mandibles are used in courtship displays (After all, everybody likes a man with a strong jawline!) and to mandible-wrestle other male beetles. Stag beetles have an intimidating ferocious appearance with their dark red or brown exoskeleton and imposing, pincer-like mandibles. Their mandibles are about the same size as their head! But don’t be fooled by their appearance. These guys don’t have any interest in in biting people and they live on a steady diet of fruit juice, tree sap, and water that the drink with their furry orange tongue for the limited time that they are alive as adults. For those who handle these bugs, say that the male does not have enough strength in its jaws to bite unlike the smaller-jawed female. 

These large beetles are a pretty rare find. They spend most of their life underground as larvae, only emerging to find a mate and reproduce. During their short lives as adults, the male stag beetle will spend their days sunning themselves to gather strength for the evening’s activities of flying in search of a mate, which is how I found this handsome fellow. 

Stag beetles are NOT nuisance pests — they do not infest homes or cause damage to landscaping. The female stag beetles lay fertilized eggs on dead trees or stumps and the grubs (stag beetle larvae) feed only on a high-fiber diet of decaying wood for five to six years before maturing into adults. As such, they are beneficial insects that help with the decomposition of dead wood in forests. So, if you happen to see a male stag beetle with those giant jaws, please don’t harm him. Let him go on his merry way looking for a female mate. Stag beetles don’t bother or harm people or cause property damage and stag beetle larvae helps the forest ecosystem.