Bah humbug!

Charles Dickens may have coined the phrase “Bah, humbug!” via the mouth of Ebenezer Scrooge, of Christmas Carol fame, but what’s a humbug? In the slang of Dickens’s era, it meant anyone or anything silly, stupid, or bothersome, qualities unfairly ascribed to a kind of stag beetle (Lucanus cervus), Britain’s largest beetle, called “humbug” in some English dialects.

New noble chafer find in Kent flagged up on Today programme

Anita Burrough, Traditional Orchard Project officer who, along with Steve Oram, discovered the noble chafer in Kent, years after it was thought to have become locally extinct, was interviewed on the Radio 4 Today programme this morning. Listen by clicking 06:30-07:00 on the link below: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/

Noble chafer - exciting new find in Kent

In the last six months two very exciting discoveries have been made. The first came when we were invited to survey the traditional orchards owned by Weston’s cider company in Herefordshire. While exploring the cavities of old apple trees we found evidence of noble chafer beetle larvae. This exciting find illustrates how a highly successful company are managing their traditional orchards in a manner that is beneficial to wildlife. Even more exciting was our next discovery in Kent. The orchard project team, Anita Burrough and Steve Oram, were carrying out surveys and in the last orchard of the day discovered the characteristic droppings of the noble chafer larvae in several old plum trees. This is a fantastic discovery as the beetle hasn’t been recorded in Kent for over 60 years.

PTES stag beetle competition winner

Thank you to all who took part in our Great Stag Hunt photo competition. There were hundreds of entries and many were of an exceptionally high standard. Please take a look at http://gallery.greatstaghunt.org/v/2007/. The first prize winner was Maria Fremlin, who captured these two males, right, in battle.

Beetles used to smuggle drugs

A parcel sent from Peru to Amsterdam on Friday was found to have 100 dead stag beetles inside. Upon further inspection, the beetles had been stuffed with about 300 grams of cocaine. The street value of all that coke is about $11,270.

Rare beetle takes battering

A rare stag beetle, Lucanus cervus akbesianus, found only in the Amanos Mountains of southern Turkey is under threat from stag beetle collectors in Japan. A million beetles each year are imported into Japan, some collecting up to £170 each.

living jewel

The beautiful Mueller's stag beetle is found in the tropics of Australia.

American stag beetles

During our great stag hunt this summer we've had sightings reported from across the Atlantic. The stags found over there are similar in shape but are a reddish colour all over.

Giant pyramid for gigantic beetle

Stephen Heywood and his team at Bucks County Council made
this fantastic log pile for stag beetles and other invertebrates.

Stunning noble chafer photo

A fantastic picture of the Noble Chafer by Matt Smith.