A dream come true from the days of poring over biology textbooks in primary school.
Lucanus cervus, known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. L. cervus is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.
The last heatwave of the summer. Evenings in the forest are supposed to be cooler — this one wasn't. Muggy, stifling, the air standing dead still between the trees.
And then I heard that low buzzing. Stag beetles in flight sound like tiny helicopters — before I'd even seen anything, I already knew they were close.
First surprise: they're genuinely huge. I knew that from books, but reading about it is one thing — watching something like that fly right over your head is another.
Second surprise: photographing them is no easy task. It's dark among the trees, they fly high, their flight path is unpredictable, and the moment worth pressing the shutter for lasts a split second. Along the way I also came across a few dead ones, and the leftovers of somebody's dinner — apparently I wasn't the only one hunting them (though I was the only one doing it with a camera).
I came home from that evening with a handful of shots I'm happy with, and the certainty that I'll be back there again someday.
