Beetles Seen in Richmond Park
Over 1350 species of beetles have been seen in Richmond Park. Below are pictures of 3 other beetles whose larvae depend on dead wood, as does that of the Stag Beetle. We have included the Scientific Names so you can look them up on the Internet; otherwise “longhorn” includes many hits about cows!
| Picture | Description & Source |
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Longhorn / Sawyer Beetle (Prionus Coriarius) - Seen on 5th July 2004, plus 2 other sightings across the park. Note 1. These beetles stridulate (vibrate abdomen against thorax), so if you attempt to pick them up the vibrations make this all but impossible. Length about 4.5cm overall. Picture taken by torchlight. Note 2. This is a male as it has much thicker antennae than the female. Note 3. This beetle can also have a blue colour - the distinctive feature is the spikes at around the pronutum, the middle section of the beetle between the head and abdomen. |
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Larvae of above - found May 05 on top of dug-up soil at base of dead tree near Roehampton Gate |
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Lesser Stag Beetle (Dorcus parallelipipedus) - photograph by Mark Wagstaff. Common sighting in park. This beetle is uniformly black so although often a similar size it can be distinguished from a female stag as her wing cases (over the abdomen) are chestnut brown. Like male Stag Beetles the mandibles of male Lessers are curved but their size difference is less pronounced between the sexes. |
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Rose Chaffer (Cetonia aurata) Common sighting in the park. Unlike the Stag Beetle - this Chaffer damages many flowers by nibbling them. The reflected light that gives this beetle its green gloss is left-circularly polarised light. As far as I know this and some related beetles are the only animals or plants that affect the light they reflect in this way. (Although the wings of some butterflies & moths do polarise light this is in a single plane.) |
