Field observation of Dorcus parallelipipedus feeding on the remains of Lucanus cervus cervus (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

A male of Dorcus parallelipipedus (Linnaeus, 1758) feeding on the remains of a Lucanus cervus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758) female, which was probably preyed by a Hooded Crow (Corvus corone cornix Linnaeus, 1758) was observed and filmed in a relict oak-hornbeam forest of the Po Plain (N Italy, Lombardy region, Mantua province). This unusual behaviour is discussed and similar activities (cannibalism and entomophagy) of lucanids are highlighted.