A Guide to Stag Beetles of Australia

A comprehensive, stunningly illustrated guide to this unusual and diverse family of beetles.Most Australian stag beetles live secretive lives, spending the majority of their life cycle inside decaying timber or under logs sunken in the soil. Yet these active recyclers of the forest are admired by beetle-loving people worldwide. Their aesthetic appeal and the rarity of some species make them of great value to collectors: the beetles in the subfamily Lampriminae are splendidly colourful, while others show an amazing variety in male mandible size and structure.A Guide to Stag Beetles of Australia is a comprehensive account of the 95 lucanid species found in Australia. This book reveals their diversity and beauty, looks in detail at their morphology, habitats and ecology, and explains how to collect, keep and preserve them. Natural history enthusiasts and professional and amateur coleopterists alike will benefit from the use of this guide.The book features some stunning images from entomologist and photographer Paul Zborowski. Paul has over 40 years’ experience of field-based study of insects and related creatures in habitats all over the world’s tropics, and operates a specialist image bank at www.close-up-photolibrary.com.Provides the reader with relatively simple, brief descriptions of each of the 98 species of Australian stag beetles, including their distribution, habitats and notes on their biology.Is the very first stag beetle guide in Australia which details every species of the family, yet still on a guide book level.Australian stag beetles are very much sought after by local and overseas collectors alike.