stag-beetle
[stag n.1]
A beetle of the genus Lucanus, the males of which have large denticulated mandibles resembling the horns of a stag; esp. L. cervus, and, in U.S., L. elaphus.
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. §vii. ii. 163 The Stag-Beetle..hath his Name from his two Horns, which are branched like those of a Stag. 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxi. (1818) II. 224 The terrific and protended jaws of the stag-beetle (Lucanus Cervus, L.) in Europe. 1859 Darwin Orig. Species iv. 88 Male stag-beetles often bear wounds from the huge mandibles of other males. 1896 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. VI. 141 The common stag-beetle (Lucanus cervus), one of the largest of European beetles. |