What is this creature?

[krisskross]

Saw in London on way to school today. Approx 2.5 inches long including terrifying dark.red pincers.

Surely not native to UK?

[LaurieFairyCake]

It's a stag beetle

Rare and protected

[LaurieFairyCake]

Yes, native

[Branleuse]

stag beetle. Protected species. Theyre brilliant.

[SomewhereIBelong]

is a stag beetle - the UK's biggest beetle - and it is endangered, so you are lucky to see one!

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Stag beetle, yes. My friend used to have those in her garden, the red and black ones as opposed to just black.

Males look more scary than females but IME are less troublesome - the females can nip you. Got one caught in my hair when I was young - scared me stupid!

Haven't seen many around in latter years, probably why they're protected!

[Gileswithachainsaw]

wow what a find

[TheSpottedZebra]

Gosh, I've not seen one of those in decades!

[krisskross]

Wow, I knew I could tell on mumsnet. DC will be delighted to know I've identified it. Was all I could do to stop DS picking it up....is it male or female? Thanks all!!

[WowOoo]

On Countryfile the other day they said to report sightings as they are so rare these days.
Lucky you!

Here: ptes.org/get-involved/surveys/garden/great-stag-hunt/

[springbabydays]

It's male. Yes please report the sighting as a pp suggested.

[krisskross]

Thank you both. I've logged it on the website.... Wish I'd taken more notice now!

[Sallyingforth]

You're very lucky to have seen that, OP :)
It's good that you took the photo because you may never see one again. I've only ever seen one.

[Ferguson]

I think the recent Springwatch series did a feature on them.

[Adarajames]

Lucky you! I live in area meant be high in their numbers but yet to see one and even built them their own beetle hotel in hopes of it! Must be good year for them though as my sister saw one yesterday as well when years have gone when no one I know has seen one

[GerundTheBehemoth]

Wonderful stag beetle. I found one standing in the middle of a path the other week - I picked it up and moved it somewhere safer. Never held such a hefty beetle before, it was brilliant :)

[ClearEyesFullHearts]

I care not a jot for nature but find this oddly thrilling.

[YAsoNBU]

Although rare nationally they can be locally common. We live in such an area and see them every year. A few years ago we had a 'plague' one warm evening, I gave up counting after 30 and retired to safety inside - they are very ungainly in flight!

[Sallyingforth]

Yes very ungainly, but the one that flew very close to me made a strange whirring sound. Wish I'd seen that TV programme.

[bialystockandbloom]

Not feeling the love for stag beetles here. We get loads in our garden every summer, they ruin it for me. Massive clumsy repulsive things whirring at head height right outside our door (when they have the whole garden to use). I certainly don't feel lucky!

[OnlyLovers]

It's splendid! I thought I'd seen them before, but reading here about how they're rare has made me doubt myself. Are there lesser/mini stag beetles too?

[SaulGood]

OnlyLovers, probably a lesser stag beetle you're seeing. It's a more common cousin of the big, rare ones.

I see them around quite a lot in the local woods.

[Buglife]

I've seen a few around here (North Essex) in the last few years though usually dead. I saw a live one trying to crawl up my fence but fell down because it's massive. It was a bit staggery so I must only see them dead or dying.

[OnlyLovers]

Saul, I was being facetious but it's nice to hear that I'm seeing SOME kind of stag beetle, even if it's not the Big Man.

I live in London though and don't get out to the woods much. The ones I've seen have been in my garden, which is fairly urban.

[SaulGood]

I was confused by the confused face. I thought you were confused.

Lesser stag beetles often wander around gardens. I live in an urban area and found one on my washing last week. Him and his mate, an earwig, were trying to hide in dd's sleeve.

[OnlyLovers]

No, I just meant I didn't really think there was such a thing as 'lesser/mini stag beetles' and was being a bit facetious when I suggested I might be seeing those rather than the big ones.

I thought I'd probably been seeing something completely different and had imagined, in my clueless townie way, that they were stag beetles!