The Lesser Stag Beetle - Cabinet of Curiosities

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities, where we're exploring history, one curious little object at a time. Today, we turn our gaze to one of the crown jewels of my beetle collection—an elegant creature with jaws like ancient antlers and a presence that would make any museum shelf proud...

Let me introduce you to the lesser stag beetle, Dorcus parallelipipedus.

I believe this one is a male—but please do feel free to correct me in the comments if I've misidentified him. Unfortunately, my photo doesn’t quite capture the beetle’s full brilliance; even though they appear black - when the light hits just right, these little creatures gleam with a deep, brown richness that always takes my breath away.

But before we get carried away with poetry (too late?), let’s do the taxonomy bit:

Now, let's get the taxonomy out of the way first.

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Suborder: Polyphaga

Infraorder: Scarabaeiformia

Family: Lucanidae

Genus: Dorcus

Species: D. parallelipipedus

If the term Scarabaeiformia catches your eye—it’s true, stag beetles aren’t scarabs, but they are part of the same grand superfamily: Scarabaeoidea. That delightful mouthful just means they share ancient insect ancestry with some of the most beautifully bizarre beetles in natural history.

Here’s a tiny marvel for you: around 25% of all known animal species are beetles. That’s not just an entomological fact—it’s an ode to the extraordinary variety of life on this planet.

At an average of 3 cm long, the lesser stag beetle is currently the largest beetle in my collection. And that’s part of why I treasure them. As someone with a visual impairment, I don’t always get to experience the full splendour of insects—unless they’re preserved, and even then, the smallest ones can be tricky to appreciate in all their detail. But a beetle like this? He’s a marvel I can truly see.

(A note on preservation: My beetles are safely encased in resin blocks. I’ve done my best to capture decent photographs of each one, though I promise they’re even more captivating in person.)

Thank you for visiting the Cabinet of Curiosities. There are more beetles to come—so we hope to see you again soon.

🐾 This particular beetle has not attempted to replace me as Queen of the Collection, which is why he remains on the shelf and not “accidentally” under the sofa. You're welcome. 🐾