Overview

• The annual Great Stag Hunt, staffed by citizen scientists, is underway this summer and asks participants across Britain to record stag beetle sightings online.
• PTES has collected data since 1998 to map beetle presence, with last year’s 15,000 records revealing hotspots in Hampshire, Greater London, Surrey, the Severn Valley and southwest coasts.
• Conservation experts warn that stag beetles are under threat from declining deadwood in gardens, parks and woodlands, essential for their multi-year underground life cycle.
• Volunteers can use free online ID guides at ptes.org/gsh and submit photos for expert verification to help ensure data accuracy.
• The survey’s findings guide targeted conservation and measure progress toward legally binding biodiversity targets under the Environmental Act 2021.