All collectors, as well as breeders, are aware that the size of beetles in breeding as well as in nature varies greatly. In this context, Lucanidae are of special interest, as with the size of the males the size and look of the head and mandibles also changes.
In the wild, the extremely large and extremely small males are rather rare, as they are a sign of exceptionally bad or good conditions that these specimen encountered during their development as larvae.
The following pics show the variations in the mandible and head size of different Lucanus maculifemoratus maculifemoratus specimen, the biggest being about 70mm the smallest about 50 mm.
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