Hope's stag beetle
Hope's stag beetle is a big, shiny stag beetle from China, Korea and Japan. The boys have huge jaws that look like the antlers of a deer. In Japan and Korea many children keep it as a pet.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Its babies can survive a whole day at minus 15 degrees, thanks to a special antifreeze in their body. No other stag beetle has it.
The biggest boys can grow up to 7.6 centimetres long.
The boys use their big jaws to fight other boys for the best places.
A grown-up beetle can live for three to five years.
A mother lays about 25 eggs, one at a time, on wood.
Most asked questions about Hope's stag beetle
?Can you keep Hope's stag beetle as a pet?
Yes. In Japan and Korea it is a popular pet because it is easy to raise.
?Does Hope's stag beetle bite?
Big boys can pinch with their jaws if you grab them, but they are not dangerous.
?How long does Hope's stag beetle live?
The baby lives one to two years in wood, and the grown-up beetle can live three to five years.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Dorcus hopei
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Lucanidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Lucanidae
- Lives on
- Asia
Where the facts come from
- Dorcus hopei (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by keusju. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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