This foto you see here is a Southern African stag beetle female and is a very rare insect in Southern Africa and is listed on the red data list. The stag beetle on this foto is a stag beetle I found in our yard while I was walking around. I were so surprised when I saw it. Stag beetles are not pests like everyone thaught it is. In fact it is a good creature cause stag beetles eat only rotten fruit that falls from trees and the larva eat only decaying wood. Stag beetles can,t eat solids- their huge mandibles are useless for eating and therefor they eat only soft stuff like rotten fruit, females use their large mandibles for digging into decaying wood to lay there eggs and males use their large mandibles for fighting. Here is a little foto of a male stag beetle, its mandibles are strong enough to chew a pensil! Here is a link if you want to see how a male stag beetle fight:Stag beetles fighting.
