Spannk Me Over Her Knee

animal in the forest of the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus )

The stag beetle, Lucanus Cervus is in the nature reserve "Lingenfelder Black Forest" a beetle home, which is in the red list of threatened species at risk as much out.

Who has the best of luck, which can now meet this season on a hike through the hardwood floodplain forest in Lingenfeld such a fine specimen. For its survival takes the stag beetle old oak forests. He lays her eggs to a depth of 75 cm in the soil, preferably from under old oaks wore down. However, lime, beech, poplar, alder or willow is accepted if necessary.

feed the larvae from the dead tree roots need for their development, 3-5, sometimes up to 8 years and during that time to 11 cm. The ancient Romans ate the larvae as a delicacy.
The adult beetle lives only up to a month. The antlers bear only the male animals and it was transformed from the upper mandibles, a part of the masticatory apparatus of the animals. These upper, transformed mandibles missing as part of the nipping tools, and the is the reason that the males exclusively on plant sap, which they lick reached easily can. The females will help them by increasing their nipping tools with the wounds on oak bark, that the juice comes out.

"It's like us humans, what would we do without our women only"

With a length of up to 75 mm, the stag beetle one of the largest beetle species in Europe and it is airworthy.
main flight period is between late May and late July

a click on the pictures enlarges them

the white "strings" on the body of the beetle, are here in the photos from the time here flying through the air everywhere poplar seeds. Such is

old giant oak here in protected areas, and the forester can also old dying oak lie. This is exactly the habitat needed by the stag beetle

how it looks here, in the NSG, as in the jungle. Softwood and hardwood riparian forest floodplains in constant change.

A slightly longer than a few feet higher position ensures that the water is less Altrhein long flooded the floor and there is a very different woodland community, namely, the hardwood lumber. Unlike the more common
flooded area, the softwood lumber. The trees consist of softwood lumber for the most part made of poplar and willow, which can live with it, to stand up to 300 days in the water.
The hardwood floodplain forest in turn is dominated by the oak, which it takes its name. But there are other trees like Sample maple, ash, locust and elm trees.

here, the sunlight flooded leaves of the maple

to almost the same height as the water table, typical softwood lumber with the slim, hochaufwachsenden poplar in the picture beyond the water and pastures on the shores and in the right foreground

course there is also a herb layer in forests of the stag beetle. Flower here at the time the beautiful swamp iris

A celebrity lives here in the NSG, the mother of countless Nutzholzpappel-descendants in the world.
Populus x euramericana 'Lingenfeld'

.....