THE STAG BEETLE, LUCANUS CERVUS L. A HYPOTHESIS FOR ITS DISTRIBUTION IN SUFFOLK

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STAG BEETLES IN SUFFOLK

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THE STAG BEETLE, LUCANUS CERVUS L. (COLEOPTERA: LUCANIDAE): A HYPOTHESIS FOR ITS DISTRIBUTION IN SUFFOLK COLIN J. HAWES Distribution Britain’s largest terrestrial beetle, Lucanus cervus is mostly restricted to the warmer, drier south-east of England, the principal regions for the insect being London and the Thames Valley, north Essex/south Suffolk, north Kent and areas along the south coast (Napier, 1999). In Suffolk the beetle is largely confined to the south-east of the county in an area between the rivers Deben and Stour (Map 1). There are significant colonies in Woodbridge, Ipswich, Hadleigh and Nayland, along an imaginary line in the north of this region, and at a number of sites across the Felixstowe and Shotley peninsulas (Hawes, 1998; 1999).

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Map 1. Stag beetle (Lucanus cervus L.) distribution in Suffolk with loamy soils and rivers. (Source : Suffolk Biological Records Centre)

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 36 (2000)


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THE STAG BEETLE, LUCANUS CERVUS L. A HYPOTHESIS FOR ITS DISTRIBUTION IN SUFFOLK by Suffolk Naturalists' Society - Issuu