Male stag beetles may occasionally fly through open windows when looking for a mate. In fact, it is the lights inside houses that attract them.

Their size gives them a clumsy flight, which often ends in a crash landing. This, along with their huge jaws, can make the beetle look quite fierce, although they are perfectly harmless to people.

When the male finally finds a female, he will start to show off by lifting his head and opening his antlers wide.

If two males are interested in the same female, they will use their antlers to fight, just like male deer. The winner will flip the loser onto its back.

Once mating is finished, the female will lay her eggs and almost immediately die. The male will not last much longer. As adults, stag beetles will generally live only for a few months.

However, they will spend three to five years as larva before they become fully-fledged beetles.

Although scarce in Britain and rarely sighted outside of the Thames Valley, we still have more than most other European countries and therefore we have a duty to protect them.

Beetles and other invertebrates provide a vital source of food for birds and mammals, act as pollinators for many plant species and provide a means for recycling nutrients. By providing the right conditions for beetles, this will also benefit other kinds of wildlife.

Stag beetles are frequent visitors to gardens. By leaving tree stumps or undisturbed log piles, you can provide them with the habitat they need to breed. Female stag beetles only lay their eggs in wood that has started to rot. Our modern habit of tidying woodland and gardens means that there is a lack of suitable dead wood, which can take years to decay.

Creating your own log pile is easy. Choose a moist, shady and undisturbed part of the garden. Place some logs partly buried in the soil where they will retain moisture and make sure you place the logs vertically and at varying heights. This will increase the number of visiting insects.

Try not to make the log pile too high as the top timber may dry out and be much less appealing for deadwood insects. Finally let plants grow over the pile to create shade and maintain humidity, ivy or clematis are ideal.

If you get the pile right, not only will stag beetles set up home, but also other insects such as the cardinal beetle and the deadwood hoverfly.

Try to keep cats away from the habitat, as they can disturb the beetles.

Other ways you can help these creepy crawlies are to keep cats away from any habitat and try not to use chemicals such as pesticides in the garden. Place a lid over your water butt (if you have one), this will prevent the beetles from drowning in the collected rainwater.

Lastly, try not to be too tidy in the garden because it can disturb all kinds of wildlife.

Perhaps if stag beetles were more attractive, people would do more to help protect them?

Sophie Lewis is the media & events officer for the Bucks, Berks, Oxon Wildlife Trust Web: bbowt.org.uk

Sophie Lewis