Stag Beetle on brickwork

After really quite a strange and traumatic day yesterday, I noticed this magnificent beastie resting next to a pipe on the back wall of our house. The sight of it caused an almost child-like delight in me (I love these creatures) and it certainly took my mind off bleaker thoughts.

"Draw it!" urged my friend.

So I did...

Lucanus cervus

Observing the details of this beast; its careful movements and tentative antenna prods, it's subtle textures and colours, how it clung to the wall with its delicate legs - was engrossing and wonderful. Actually, it was totally Art Therapy in action.

I remember walking home from the park with my daughter a few years ago and hearing a tremendously deep humming/whirling sound - the sort of noise you might imagine a mini-helicopter making. We saw a dark shape hovering and realised it was a stag beetle in flight, like some kind of remote-controlled toy. I experienced the same sense of "how do they do that?" that you get when you see a bumblebee fly; all the dipping and bobbing as they apparently struggle to keep in the air...

Read more about these extraordinary and beautiful creatures here: Wild London