What kind of bug is this?

Man I've never seen anything like this!! Anyone know what the heck this thing is?

It's a male Giant Stag Beetle (Lucanus elaphus). Females do not have the large mandibles. What a find! Like everything else with "antlers," they use the mandibles to fight for females. It is believed that adult beetles feed on honeydew.


Tandy

I've never seen one like that lol. How big do they get?

They are also called the American Stag Beetle and I would say the males will be 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches with mandibles and maybe up to 2".


Tandy

I'm normally not impressed by bugs, but this one I was amazed by how big it is. By the lack of better judgement I wanted to test out the strength of its mandibles, but I decided not to.

LOL. They are very strong and can easily flip another male over with their mandibles. The Hercules beetle (a type of Scarab beetle) is on the list as the strongest animal on the planet as per body weight. Most stats estimate that it can lift 800-900 times its own body weight. Awesome! I guess the stag beetles aren't quite that strong or they would be named the Hercules beetle.


Tandy

I'm glad I didn't test it on my finger then lol. I thought it was a great find also. Maybe I can find another one.