General Description
Body oval and shiny. Colour varies; green, red, blue or purple all over body. Males have larger bodies and larger jaws (mandibles) than females. Body up to 3 cm long, usually 1.5 - 2.5 cm.
Biology
Golden Stag Beetles move around on the ground during the day but are free flying and will visit flowers (especially eucalypts) to get a nectar drink. The males defend a territory on top of rotting logs. The larvae look like curl grubs and lie sideways on the soil beneath the rotting logs on which they feed.
Distribution
Southern mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Habitat
Dry sclerophyll forest.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Fast Fact
Stag beetles get their name from the enlarged mouthparts (mandibles) of the males. These resemble stags horns and are used for fighting.
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Brief Id
Shiny oval-shaped beetle with large jaws in the males.
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Colours
Green, Blue, Red, Yellow
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Habitats
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Diet
Herbivore
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Conservation Statuses
CITES: Not listed, FFG Threatened List: Not listed, DSE Advisory List: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Not listed
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Taxon Name
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Scientific Author
Latreille, 1817
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Common Name
Golden Stag Beetle
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Kingdom
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Superfamily
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Subfamily
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Genus
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Species Name
aurata
