Kitchen Garden Forum

I rescued a very handsome stag beetle from being chopped up by the lawnmower 4 weeks ago. He has been living happily in my greenhouse ever since. I have been spraying him with water and putting fruit down for him. I don't think he will find a mate in our garden. Should I release him into the countryside where he may be more likely to find a mate ?

Dear Happymouse, i'm sure he will leave on his own accord, when he feels the urge, until then, i would just enjoy his company.

Yippee ! I have just walked my dog down the cycle path this evening amd found 2 beetles which are about half his size without horns. I hope they are female stags if not i've done all I can to keep him happy : )

Hi Happymouse. Wow! I'd love to have stag beetles in my garden! How brilliant. I'm sure he will be very happy! cheers.

We have a footpath near our house which used to contain a length of elm trees which gradually died of Dutch Elm disease, were felled, and most of the trunks have been left lying by the side of the path to rot. The rotten logs seem to have become a breeding ground for stag beetles and most summers now we are lucky enough to see several of them flying around. They are huge and magnificent to watch, and whenever we walk along the footpath in summer now, have to be very careful where we tread to avoid crushing them.

I do wonder if we sometimes try and keep everthing just a little too clear of undergrowth, rotten logs and the like, even the smallest of creatures need a bit of habitat to survive.

I agree OH. I love all the six and eight legged critters.....well there are exceptions of course. Such as the ones which try to demolish my fruit and veg... Cheers.

oldherbaceous wrote:I do wonder if we sometimes try and keep everthing just a little too clear of undergrowth, rotten logs and the like, even the smallest of creatures need a bit of habitat to survive.

OH is spot on with this comment.

At Hatfield Forest the National Trusts environametal programme includes the deliberate leaving of "eco-heaps", tidy log piles and more random piles of tree-felling debris as they coppice and fell different sections of this medieval forest.
This is in addition to the use of branches and brush to protect the coppice re-growth from browsing deer.
Many trees that commercial or parkland planting would have removed due to dieback are deliberately left, much to the delight of the resident Woodpeckers.
A wonderful place and well worth a visit, especially during the summer, see Hatfield Forest for details.

I love the slogan on the banner shown in the photograph. Hopefully it will make everybody stop and think when they see it. Sadly, the human race are the most selfish of all creatures, and very few people are prepared to give up their holiday flying abroad to preserve a few trees or some wild creatures. We can only continue campaigning for the preservation of wild life and doing what we can in our own small environments.