Can the stag beetle species L. Elaphus and L. Capreolus intrbreed?

[InsectaJaeger888]

So I bring this question up after seeing another post asking if rhinoceros beetle species under the genus Dynastes could interbreed or hybridize. In some species this is true and an experiment done in the early 21st Century proved it by crossbreeding two north American species Dynastes tityus and Dynastes Granti. Both were closely related and seemed almost identical with exception to thoracic horn length and coloration. Given that I must ask has anyone ever crossbred and created a hybrid of the north American stag beetle species Lucanus elaphus and Lucanus capreolus? Both species are roughly within the same size and length range as well as both species have the same breeding requirements and although different in appearance the two species share most anatomy features with exception to two things of course. The males mandible size and head shape and the length of the males genitals. L. elaphus has a longer penis and its apparent when comparing pupae however it can't be said that it is possible for a male L. elaphus to breed with a female L. capreolus as his genital would certainly be long enough to reach the unfertilized eggs. A question of whether any offsprings would survive and whether they would be fertile or sterile is in question but what do you member of the beetleforum community think about this hypothesis and do you think it is worth experimenting on? cuz I am thinking of performing this experiment next year given that I can find the appropriate logs.

[Shade of Eclipse]

They most likely will not interbreed. Unlike Dynastes species which are geographically isolated from one another, Lucanus elaphus and Lucanus capreolus share much of the same range. They likely have some mechanism to keep them from interbreeding, which would be detrimental to both species long-term.

[InsectaJaeger888]

Hmm I see then well it was worth asking as there is no information I could find on my own about this and it seems like no one has actually tried this for themselves.

[Pewrune]

Its easier for Rhino beetles to interbreed because a lot of them would want mate whenever they can. They would even try to do it with my finger!

 

but for Stags, it's slightly harder, sometimes the male would kill the female if the female refuse to mate. and the female would try to fight back and cut off the male's legs.

 

I have never encountered a male stag trying to do something with my finger...other then pinching.

 

I know people in Asia tried to interbreed some Dorcus species. But maybe because they are big and popular..? and want to find out if something even bigger can be produced?

[InsectaJaeger888]

That is the idea Pewrune initially the red brown stag beetle has smaller mandibles then the elephant stag beetle but often times major males of the red brown stag have larger bodies than major male elephant stag beetles. If combining the body size and mass of the red brown stag with the elephant stag's massive mandibles would create a hybrid that would technically be the largest stag beetle in north America.