National #StagWeekend is taking taking place this weekend with the aim of raising awareness of the important role stage beetles play in nature.

Stag beetles are in decline and are protected across Britain but in June and July every year we are fortunate enough to see them in the Clapham Common area.

They are totally harmless as the pincers do not close, so if you find one on a public path or road where they will be vulnerable please carefully pick them up and move them to an area of safety, preferably near to dead or rotting wood.

A major cause of stag beetles’ decline is a lack of dead wood so this weekend’s #StagWeekend aims to increase public awareness and to encourage local councils and people with gardens to leave tree stumps or logs in a quiet place to give the beetles somewhere to lay their eggs. The larvae then live underground for 4-7 years feeding on the rotting wood before emerging as adults to mate and start the cycle again