Stag Beetles Need Our Help!

At Rachel Keeling we are lucky enough to have a wonderful garden with many natural features. Around the edge of our sand pit we have a fallen oak tree which acts as a barrier to stop the sand sliding out and looks in keeping with our outdoor space.
Last week something happened and we learnt so much more about the flora and fauna in our garden.
A child was climbing in to the sand pit and part of the oak tree (which is decomposing) gave way under her foot. What we found underneath was quite a surprise!
Much of the underside of the oak had crumbled and inside was a magical home to at least one stag beetle and multiple larvae (there was also a frog in there!)
Luckily our green-fingered teacher Urszula was on hand to advise and guide us.
Stag Beetles are endangered species - that means they are at risk of dying out altogether.
Normally you should not move larvae or beetles but they were in danger from predators (cats, foxes, birds and children's feet) so we needed to move them to safety.
The children helped Urszula to gather as much of the rotting wood and create a log pile nearby in a quieter area.
The larvae and beetle were moved to their new home. It was quite exciting.
Did you know?
Stag Beetles can fly.
They can live up to 7 years but need suitable places to survive,
The larvae can live for 3-4 years under ground.
They like to live in dead wood so please don't move logs and leaves.
Please visit People's Trust for Endangered Species at
www.ptes.org