Stag beetle

The Stag Beetle (known as the Flat Stag Beetle prior to ) is a bug introduced in. In, it was removed - this is possibly because it and the Saw Stag Beetle are too similar.

Donating to the museum
As with all bugs in the, the Stag Beetle can be donated to the museum by talking to Blathers. During the donation, he will tell the player a little bit about it.

In Animal Crossing
"They're called beetles, wot? The lugs of the insect world. Insects with armor plating on their backs, you know. Their armor, it...opens up, revealing wings, which they use to fly. It's really quite unnatural. Then, there's that thin membrane-like covering where their heads connect to their bodies. Most foul!"

In Wild World
''When picking up a stag beetle, I would advise you to grab it on its back side. If your finger got stuck in the brute's pinchers, you'd surely regret it, wot wot!''

Further information
The stag beetle in Animal Crossing refers to no particular stag beetle, although this stag beetle largely resembles the Lucanus cervus stag beetle. L. cervus, despite being recognizable, is in steep decline around the world, and it is now listed as globally threatened. As in Animal Crossing, these beetles appear from late May up until late August. Their larvae feeds on plant matter, particularly inside wood, which makes them possible food for woodpeckers. Beetle larvae have combs in their legs which are used to communicate with other larvae. Adults, meanwhile, feed on tree sap and nectar, living for a few months. Stag beetles are also sexually dimorphic, meaning that the males contain much larger mandibles than the females. The stag beetle shown in Animal Crossing are the male version. Despite Blathers's speech in Wild World, the males have too weak mandibles to inflict harm. The females can inflict more painful bites, however.