Allgemein Archive - Hirschkäfer-Suche

Is it really all that good?

Markus Rink — Thu, 02 May 2024 18:38:27 +0000

For several years now, the first reports of active, even flying stag beetle males have been coming from Franconia as early as 20 April. Usually very large, proud beetles that want to conquer the world. This year, these reports seem to be coming from all directions, including Trier. In between these reports, there are repeated cold snaps and suddenly the first dead males appear, without any injuries, simply dead. Of course, climate change is also affecting the stag beetles developing deeper in the earth. You think you might be missing something down there. The females of the stag beetles usually stay even deeper in the ground and are not as willing to take risks as the males. They prefer to wait and are at least a week later than the males anyway.

So there is still the hype around the end of May/June, when the females are very tempting to invite you to their wedding. However, most early starters’ batteries are likely to be pretty flat by then, if they haven’t already died because of a late frost. We’ll keep an eye on things and stay tuned, but the cards will be reshuffled, hopefully not too quickly for the stag beetle (and us).

Der Beitrag Is it really all that good? erschien zuerst auf Hirschkäfer-Suche.

Is it really all that good?

Markus Rink — Thu, 02 May 2024 18:30:26 +0000

Der Beitrag Is it really all that good? erschien zuerst auf Hirschkäfer-Suche.

The stag beetle in Bavaria

Markus Rink — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 06:49:13 +0000

The stag beetle friends Nature two e.V. together with their cooperation partners are pleased about the very good bachelor thesis of Ms. Mona Range from Erlangen. Ms. Range took a closer look at our Citizen Science (CS) project “www.hirschkaefer-suche.de” as part of her bachelor’s thesis at the Weihenstephan – Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences. We ourselves have already written, published and criticized a lot, and suddenly we are being taken to task ourselves. That was a new feeling for us too, especially for me. We are proud of her findings, which she has skillfully derived from our data pool and our way of working. “Citizen science” works for the stag beetle, producing solid results without having to dispense with the expertise of experts.

Mona Range evaluated and compared our data delivered to Bavaria through neutral glasses, without comment from the stag beetle pope from the distant Moselle. Her work is now all the more valuable for us.

I myself do not (yet) know Ms. Range personally, but only from the data transfer, her own stag beetle reports and as a follower of our posts, from which I conclude, however, that she cares a lot about the stag beetles and our environment as a whole. She will certainly be urgently needed in these difficult times.

We wish Mona Range continued success on her life’s journey!

Dr. Markus Rink Alf in April 2024

Der Beitrag The stag beetle in Bavaria erschien zuerst auf Hirschkäfer-Suche.

We are waiting for the stag beetles…

Markus Rink — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 17:22:22 +0000

Our team is now waiting for stag beetle season. The already finished 24 beetles are currently still waiting in their earthen shells, approx. 30 cm below the earth’s surface, for a signal to make the laborious climb to the surface. This signal is triggered on the one hand by an internal clock and on the other hand by the ambient temperature and usually reaches males earlier than females. Maybe it just depends on the depth of burrowing, because females build their earthen shells about 5 – 6 cm deeper than males. It will be a good four weeks before the first beetles dare to come out of the ground. Because they hatch earlier, the males usually have to wait for their ladies, who then want to do a flying lap and prefer to be courted aggressively before they get married. We are once again looking forward to an exciting stag beetle season

Der Beitrag We are waiting for the stag beetles… erschien zuerst auf Hirschkäfer-Suche.