Le Lucane cerf-volant Lucanus cervus (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) dans l'art et la mythologie

Lucanus cervus, the largest European beetle, has incessantly captured the imagination and fascination of mankind and has been known in Europe since the antiquity. The first written sources, in which it is mentioned, appear in ancient Greece and the last are very recent paintings of male stag beetles from the 21st century, demonstrating a very impressive span for this charismatic beetle. The stag beetle’s popularity is based not only on the mythological tales, but also on its magical powers. By the time, it slowly rid itself of the once assigned symbolic meaning and took on a descriptive and decorative function, finally becoming the favourite subject of many artists. Thanks to its ability to stimulate people’s imagination and to be transformed into a variety of roles, the stag beetle appears even in satirical illustrations. It is included in the repertory of decorative Art Nouveau, on porcelain, on jewellery, on stamps and on a variety of consumer goods.Connu en Europe depuis l'Antiquité, Lucanus cervus, le plus grand Coléoptère européen, a de tout temps captivé l'imagination et fasciné l'humanité. Les premières sources écrites dans lesquelles il est mentionné remontent à la Grèce ancienne et les dernières sont de très récentes peintures de lucanes mâles du 21e siècle, ce qui démontre une remarquable durée de l'intérêt porté à cet insecte charismatique. La popularité du Lucane repose non seulement sur les légendes mythologiques mais aussi sur ses pouvoirs magiques. Au cours du temps, il s'est lentement débarrassé de la signification symbolique qui lui avait été assignée pour prendre une fonction descriptive et décorative, devenant au final le sujet favori de beaucoup d'artistes. Par son aptitude à stimuler l'imagination populaire et à jouer une variété de rôles, le Lucane apparaît même dans les illustrations satiriques. Il est inscrit au répertoire décoratif de l'Art Nouveau sur les porcelaines, les bijoux, les timbres et une variété de biens de consommation

The stag beetle Lucanus cervus (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) in art and mythology

Lucanus cervus, the largest European beetle, has incessantly captured the imagination and fascination of mankind and has been known in Europe since the antiquity. The first written sources, in which it is mentioned, appear in ancient Greece and the last are very recent paintings of male stag beetles from the 21st century, demonstrating a very impressive span for this charismatic beetle. The stag beetle’s popularity is based not only on the mythological tales, but also on its magical powers. By the time, it slowly rid itself of the once assigned symbolic meaning and took on a descriptive and decorative function, fi nally becoming the favourite subject of many artists. Thanks to its ability to stimulate people’s imagination and to be transformed into a variety of roles, the stag beetle appears even in satirical illustrations. It is included in the repertory of decorative Art Nouveau, on porcelain, on jewellery, on stamps and on a variety of consumer goods.Le Lucane cerf-volant Lucanus cervus (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) dans l’art et la mythologie. — Connu en Europe depuis l’Antiquité, Lucanus cervus, le plus grand Coléoptère européen, a de tout temps captivé l’imagination et fasciné l’humanité. Les premières sources écrites dans lesquelles il est mentionné remontent à la Grèce ancienne et les dernières sont de très récentes peintures de lucanes mâles du 21e siècle, ce qui démontre une remarquable durée de l’intérêt porté à cet insecte charismatique. La popularité du Lucane repose non seulement sur les légendes mythologiques mais aussi sur ses pouvoirs magiques. Au cours du temps, il s’est lentement débarrassé de la signification symbolique qui lui avait été assignée pour prendre une fonction descriptive et décorative, devenant au final le sujet favori de beaucoup d’artistes. Par son aptitude à stimuler l’imagination populaire et à jouer une variété de rôles, le Lucane apparaît même dans les illustrations satiriques. Il est inscrit au répertoire décoratif de l’Art Nouveau sur les porcelaines, les bijoux, les timbres et une variété de biens de consommation.Sprecher-Uebersax Eva. The stag beetle Lucanus cervus (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) in art and mythology. In: Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie), supplément n°10, 2008. 4ème colloque sur la conservation des coléoptères saproxyliques, tenu à Vivoin (Sarthe – France) du 27 au 29 juin 2006 / Proceedings of the 4th symposium and workshop on the conservation of Saproxylic beetles, held in vivoin, sarthe department – France 27–29 June 2006. pp. 153-159

Description of fiv enew species and proposal of a new synonym in the genus Paropsisterna Motschulsky, 1860, from Australia (Coleoptera, Chryso-melidae, Chrysomelinae)

Five new species of Paropsisterna are described from Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, and a new synonym is proposed : Paropsisterna ambigua Daccordi, 2003, n. syn. for P. cernua (Chapuis, 1877). P. dogueti n. sp. is closely allied to P. delmastroi Daccordi, 2003 ; P. sergei n. sp. resembles P. angustipes (Blackburn, 1898) ; P. cooktowni n. sp. and P. fortepunctata n. sp. are related to P. purpureoviridis (Clark, 1864) ; P. fontaniva n. sp. belongs to the species complex of P. sexpustulata (Marsham, 1808). The species can be distinguished by the characters of the aedeagus.Description de cinq espèces nouvelles et proposition d’un nouveau synonyme dans le genre Paropsisterna Motschulsky, 1860, d’Australie (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Chrysomelinae). Cinq nouvelles espèces de Paropsisterna sont décrites du Queensland, de New South Wales et d’Australie occidentale, et une nouvelle synonymie est proposée : Paropsisterna ambigua Daccordi, 2003, n. syn. de P. cernua (Chapuis, 1877). P. dogueti n. sp. est voisine de P. delmastroi Daccordi, 2003 ; P. sergei n. sp. ressemble à P. angustipes (Blackburn, 1898) ; P. cooktowni n. sp. et P. fortepunctata n. sp. appartiennent au groupe de P. purpureoviridis (Clark, 1864) ; P. fontaniva n. sp. fait partie du complexe d’espèces de P. sexpustulata (Marsham, 1808). Toutes les espèces se distinguent parfaitement par les caractères de l’édéage.Daccordi Mauro, Sprecher-Uebersax Eva. Description of fiv enew species and proposal of a new synonym in the genus Paropsisterna Motschulsky, 1860, from Australia (Coleoptera, Chryso-melidae, Chrysomelinae). In: Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, volume 123 (2),2018. pp. 245-258

A checklist of stag beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae) from Iran

Bartolozzi, Luca, Ghahari, Hassan, Sprecher-Uebersax, Eva, Zilioli, Michele (2014): A checklist of stag beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae) from Iran. Zootaxa 3887 (3): 422-436, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3887.4.

A checklist of stag beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae) from Iran

Bartolozzi, Luca, Ghahari, Hassan, Sprecher-Uebersax, Eva, Zilioli, Michele (2014): A checklist of stag beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae) from Iran. Zootaxa 3887 (3): 422-436, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3887.4.

Can we successfully monitor a population density decline of elusive invertebrates? A statistical power analysis on Lucanus cervus

Monitoring global biodiversity is essential for understanding and countering its current loss. However, monitoring of many species is hindered by their difficult detection due to crepuscular activity, hidden phases of the life cycle, short activity period and low population density. Few statistical power analyses of declining trends have been published for terrestrial invertebrates. Consequently, no knowledge exists of the success rate of monitoring elusive invertebrates. Here data from monitoring transects of the European stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is used to investigate whether the population trend of this elusive species can be adequately monitored. Data from studies in UK, Switzerland and Germany were compiled to parameterize a simulation model explaining the stag beetle abundance as a function of temperature and seasonality. A Monte-Carlo simulation was used to evaluate the effort needed to detect a population abundance decline of 1%/year over a period of 12 years. To reveal such a decline, at least 240 1-hour transect walks on 40 to 100 transects need to be implemented in weekly intervals during warm evenings. It is concluded that monitoring of stag beetles is feasible and the effort is not greater than that which has been found for other invertebrates. Based on this example, it is assumed that many other elusive species with similar life history traits can be monitored with moderate efforts. As saproxylic invertebrates account for a large share of the forest biodiversity, although many are elusive, it is proposed that at least some flagship species are included in monitoring programmes

Bionomics and distribution of the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus (L.) across Europe

1. The European stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is thought to be widely distributed across its range, but a detailed description of its occurrence is lacking. 2. Researchers in 41 countries were contacted and information sought on various life history characteristics of the insect. Data on adult body size were collected from seven countries. 3. Habitat associations differ between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. Larvae are most commonly associated with oak, but the duration of the larval stage and the number of instars varies by up to 100% across Europe. 4. Adult size also varies; beetles from Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands are larger than those from Belgium or the UK. In the former countries, populations are composed mainly of large individuals, while in the UK, the majority of individuals are relatively small. Allometric relations between mandible size and total body length differ in Germany compared with the rest of Europe. 5. Distribution maps of the insect, split into records pre- and post-1970, from 24 countries are presented. While these inevitably suffer from recorder bias, they indicate that in only two countries, Croatia and Slovakia, does the insect seem to be increasing in range. 6. Our data suggest that the insect may be in decline across Europe, most likely due to habitat loss, and that conservation plans need to be produced that focus on the biology of the insect in the local area