The stag beetle (Lucanus barbarossa) is already an old acquaintance of ours, roaming the trunks of Portuguese oak trees on summer nights in search of a mate. It was therefore a pleasure to stay out once more after sunset to look for it.
In partnership with the VACALOURA.PT project and the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra, we ran this activity at the Bio-Reserve da Morena. We found a male and an already-dead female stag beetle, as well as some individuals of the carpenter beetle (Ergates faber).
A few weeks later, we decided to check on the population of the Iberian straight-mouth nase (Achondrostoma oligolepis), the only fish species detected at the Bio-Reserve Senhora da Alegria — also during the night.
More active and less hidden than during the day, we managed to detect numerous individuals. Apparently healthy, this population owes much to the excellent work of volunteers over recent years in restoring the riparian gallery that runs through the Bio-Reserve.
