[STAG sb.1] A beetle of the genus Lucanus, the males of which have large denticulated mandibles resembling the horns of a stag; esp. L. cervus, and, in U.S., L. elaphus.
1681. Grew, Musæum, I. § vii. ii. 163. The Stag-Beetle … hath his Name from his two Horns, which are branched like those of a Stag.
1816. Kirby & Sp., Entomol., xxi. (1818), II. 224. The terrific and protended jaws of the stag-beetle (Lucanus Cervus, L.) in Europe.
1859. Darwin, Orig. Species, iv. 88. Male stag-beetles often bear wounds from the huge mandibles of other males.
1896. Lydekker, Roy. Nat. Hist., VI. 141. The common stag-beetle (Lucanus cervus), one of the largest of European beetles.
