On June 26th, 2025, I walked into my bedroom and saw a big beetle walking across my carpet. While plenty of people would freak out or feel dread, I felt a jolt of excitement. I sped to the kitchen to grab something to catch him with, or at least, make sure he stayed in one place. I came back to my room and didn't see him, but found him quickly by gently lifting one of the shirts he was previously moving towards. I set some cheap tupperware on top of him, laid the shirt on it for some extra weight, before going back to the living room to wake my girlfriend. It was the middle of the day, but she was having a nap on the couch.
I woke her up and told her to come into my room to see something. I'm not usually into bugs, but she loves all animals and I knew she'd love this. She did, and after being giddy for a few seconds together, we got a glass jar from the kitchen, got him in, and put some tinfoil on top before poking air holes through it.
We then woke up her other partner who was visiting to show him. Cue three transgenders huddling excitedly around a beetle.
We spend about 20 mins looking up what kind of beetle he was, and eventually my girlfriend found a picture that matched exactly: A reddish-brown stag beetle.
It's Free Pet
When first showing Selene the beetle under the container, I suggested that we could possibly keep him as a pet because of how cool he looked. I had never seen a beetle that big while living in the U.S., much less inside my home. She and her alters were all for it and excited, but I wanted to make sure of a few things.
They were a male, otherwise there could be eggs that they were trying to find a laying spot for, and that's not something we have the resources for.
The species was not harmful to homes.
The species was not endangered or scarce. It would be harmful to keep a beetle from breeding by keeping them as a pet.
If we're able to provide a decent habitat and able to feed them.
How long are they going to be around?
There may be a no pets policy where I live so a long living pet is not the best idea.
Luckily, Steve met all of these requirements!
Setting up Steve's living
Since it was later in the day when Steve was found, stores weren't open to go and get a decent enclosure. For the night, Steve stayed in a glass jar filled with soil and dead leaves with a small twig running up the side. The top was sealed with more tin foil with four air holes with a pony tail around it to keep it on. It was sad but it worked for the time being.
The next day me and Selene's partner went to the pet store after she came back tired from work. We grabbed a traveling case usually for medium sized reptiles, cypress mulch, a small log arch, a small heat pad, and an extra chunck of rotting wood. After getting back, I washed out the container with dish soap and dried it. Then I filled the bottom with over an inch of dirt and mixing it a bit with the mulch. It was convienent that I had a pot sitting out from where I potted plants last summer, it provided soil that had a mix of leaves and twigs while it also stays moist and I know that there's no pesticides or run off chemicals. I then sprinkled more dead leaves on top. I was trying my best to make it like a forest floor where rotting wood would be found. I decided to not add the heating pad for now because of how warm it is in the apartment with the current heatwave... plus it looked like a pain to get working. For finishing touches, I added the log with natural sap on it and a little plastic lid as a water dish.
Facts About Steve
The scientific name for a reddish-brown stag beetle is Lucanus Capreolus. The species name, capreolus, means "roe deer" in Latin. Like deer, males use their mandibles and clash with each other for females.
Steve is a nocturnal beetle! Males like him usually bask in the sun during the day before looking for mates at night.1
Steve does not have a status ranking regarding population numbers.2 Though stag beetles in general are threatened in northern Europe and endangered to extinct throughout Britian.1
Steve's species is incredibly important for the ecosystem! The larvae help decompose rotten wood and not living trees or homes. On top of that, while the pincers are menacing, they aren't that much of a threat to humans. As long as you don't threaten them, they'll make no attempt to harm you.
We're able to tell that Steve is a male because of his body shape and how big his pincers are.
As a larva, Steve would've grown up eating rotting wood with the rest of his siblings for two years before growing and emerging as the beetle he is in late June to August. He likely was in my room looking for a mate, though it was far from a good place to find one. Moving about because it was dark in there. It was a heatwave so the curtains were closed to try and keep the place as cool as possible. As an adult, Steve only has to worry about drinking sap and finding a mate over the course of the summer. Sadly, he will only live for a short time, and will likely die before winter.
Behavior
It's been interesting to note how Steve acts, especially when not many people are documenting the behavior of this type of beetle. The fact that I have training with documenting behavior in humans and animals also explains my want to do it here.
While in a dark room with Steve we can hear him moving around inside his enclosure. During the day, or when lights are on long enough, Steve digs into the dirt and will burrow around a bit before likely going to sleep. Though, from what information is available, males usually sun themselves. Information will be changed if we see him hanging out in the sun more.
When interacting with humans, Steve becomes very still. Multiple times, when moving him or something around him, he freezes. I was able to pick up the tupperware on top of him to show him to my gf and he didn't move. When getting him into the first jar, it took some encouragement for him to start crawling into it. When moving him to a slightly bigger jar with dirt and dead leaves, I got him on a spoon, and he didn't move while I transferred him and took a minute before digging into the dirt after he was placed. Even when he had a lot of room after leaving the jar into the enclosure, he stayed still as I removed the jar.
When standing still, Steve props himself up with his front two legs extended and his pinchers pointing up, like the picture shows.
Steve can fly, and whenever he flies, he opens his wings and stands still for a few seconds before taking off.
Since he is nocturnal and an active boy, it's hard to get good pictures of Steve
