#3236 · 🪲 beetles
European Stag Beetle
🇳🇱 Vliegend hert ·Lucanus cervus
📍 Apeldoorn, NL-GE, NL
📍 Netherlands
📍 Gelderland, NL
📍 Nijmegen-Oost, Nijmegen, Netherlands
📍 Gelderland, NL
📍 6581 Malden, Nederland
📍 Gelderland, NL
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Diego González Dopico · CC BY 4.0
- 2. © Manuel Raab · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Dragonfyre · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. Apeldoorn, NL-GE, NL:© Paul Cools · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. Netherlands:© hi_im_vegan · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. Gelderland, NL:© no rights reserved · CC0
- 7. Nijmegen-Oost, Nijmegen, Netherlands:© Lars Willighagen · CC BY 4.0
- 8. Gelderland, NL:© Quirien Mulder ten Kate · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. 6581 Malden, Nederland:© Carmen · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Gelderland, NL:© YvoRa · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The European stag beetle ( Lucanus cervus ) is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. L. cervus is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 145 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 58,957 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- European Stag Beetle
- Nederlands
- Vliegend hert
- scientific name
- Lucanus cervus
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Coleoptera
- family
- Lucanidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 145
- sightings in Europe
- 56,022
- sightings worldwide
- 58,957
- GBIF records in NL
- 15,169
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Lucanidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 61749, Wikidata Q190491, GBIF 5743122, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.