It’s big, bizarre and alien-looking and it’s quite likely to be in a garden or woodland near you.

The fearsome form of the stag beetle, normally elusive, is being reported in Dorset in increasing numbers.

An unusually hot spring seems to have got them on the move nearly a month earlier than usual, says Dorset Wildlife Trust.

A globally threatened species, protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to catch a glimpse of one is usually a rare treat.

Numbers have been in serious decline since the 1940s due to the destruction of their dead wood habitats and many conservation projects are in place across the UK to help bring them back.

Bournemouth is one of the top hotspots for stag beetles and this has also been a bumper year for ladybirds and butterflies in the area, due to the warm spring.

“An unusual number of sightings of stag beetles have been reported this year,” said Steve Halliwell, project co-ordinator for the trust’s Wildlife on Your Doorstep Project.

“Early this June as I was relaxing in the garden one warm evening I saw at least a dozen male stag beetles fly over, a phenomenon I have never witnessed before.”

Lucanus cervus is Britain’s largest beetle, the male growing to 7.5cms in length while the female rarely exceeds 4.5cms.

Emerging from late May to September, they can be seen in flight, predominantly on wind-free, warm summer evenings.

While the fearsome-looking male beetle is harmless the female, which has much shorter pincers, can give a painful bite.

DWT is encouraging everyone to be less tidy in their gardens and leave out old logs in a bid to help create more habitats for these magnificent beetles.

A free Wildlife on Your Doorstep information pack is available and for more information visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/woyd, contact Steve Halliwell on shalliwell@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk or call 01202 692033.