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Stag beetle

Stag beetles are a group of about 1,200 species of beetle in the family Lucanidae, presently classified in four subfamilies Some species grow up to over 12 cm (4.8 in), but most are about 5 cm (2 in).

The English name is derived from the large and distinctive mandibles found on the males of most species, which resemble the antlers of stags.
A well-known species in much of Europe is Lucanus cervus, referred to in the United Kingdom as "the" stag beetle (it is the largest terrestrial insect in the UK). Pliny the Elder noted that Nigidius called the stag beetle lucanus after the Italian region of Lucania where they were used as amulets. The scientific name of Lucanus cervus is this word, plus cervus, deer.

Male stag beetles use their jaws to wrestle each other for favoured mating sites in a manner that parallels the way stags fight over females. Fights may also be over food, such as tree sap and decaying fruits. Despite their often fearsome appearance they are not normally aggressive to humans.
Female stag beetles are usually smaller than the males, with smaller mandibles. As larvae, females can be distinguished from males by the presence of cream-coloured, fat ovaries visble through the skin around 2/3 down the larva's back.

The larvae feed for several years on rotting deciduous wood, growing through 3 larval stages until eventually pupating inside a pupal cell constructed from surrounding wood pieces and soil particles. In the final larval stage, "L3", the grubs of larger species, such as Prosopocoilus giraffa, may be the size of a human finger.
Transnistria 2006 Stag beetle
Obverse: 
there is an image of the State Emblem Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublika  in the centre, circled by an inscription  "ПРИДНЕСТРОВСКИЙ РЕСПУБЛИКАНСКИЙ БАНК" (Pridnestrovskiy Respublikanskiy Bank) in Cyrillic above the image along the edging and an inscription "100 РУБЛЕЙ" (100 rubles) in Cyrillic under the image "2006" indicating the mint year is below the image of the State Emblem.
Reverse: 
the picture of two stag-beetles crawling along the oak trunk is in the centre of the coin with a circular inscription "ЖУК-ОЛЕНЬ" (STAG-BEETLE) in Cyrillic - LUKANUS CERVUS " under the picture. 
Country: 
Catalog ID: 
PMR103CM1
Krause ID: 
KM# 78
Value: 
€55
Mintage: 
500
Quality: 
Face value: 
Material: 
Purity: 
0.925
Weight: 
14.14g
Diameter: 
32mm
Year: 
Type: 
Shape and style: 
Edge: 
Insects: 
Local program: 
Plant: 
Source of information: 
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