Bug FAQNicagus obscurus
Nicagus obscurus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Lucanidae
Nicagus obscurus is a stag beetle in the Lucanidae family and lives in North America. Its larvae develop in the grooves of aspen driftwood, and adults appear in August.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Nicagus obscurus is a stag beetle belonging to the Lucanidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The larvae live in the grooves of aspen driftwood.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae are associated with aspen driftwood grooves.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae develop within the grooves of aspen driftwood.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adult beetles emerge in August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
This species occurs in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 17 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, South Carolina, New Jersey, Iowa, Vermont, Indiana, Alabama, Maryland.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Same family (Lucanidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicagus_obscurus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.