Gardeners across Cornwall are being urged to make their gardens stag beetle friendly, in an effort to raise the number of Britain's largest land beetle.

The beetles are more likely to be seen towards the end of May, as the warmer evenings draw them above ground to mate.

Stag beetles can reach up to 75mm in size and typically live in Britain's gardens and parks, but their numbers are in decline.

Now, the People's Trust for Endangered Species is offering advice as to how gardeners can help make their green spaces a haven for stag beetles, in an attempt to reverse the decline.

Gardeners are urged to consider installing a log pile, or leaving dead wood in the garden as this creates an ideal food source for the beetles.

Reducing dangers is also important, so people should be wary when mowing the lawn.

Lastly, the organisation would like members of the public to record their sightings, via the Great Stag Hunt.

The organisation's annual Great Stag Hunt has been running for nearly 20 years. and last year saw over 6,000 submitted records, and is available at ptes.org/gsh.

Laura Bower, conservation officer at the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, said: “Sadly stag beetles are declining across Europe and they’re now extinct in some countries.

"In the southern parts of the UK they are doing much better but they still need our help.

"Gardens are very important habitats, as stag beetle larvae rely on decaying wood in contact with soil to feed on.

"Gardeners can help by retaining dead tree stumps or building a log pile.

"We hope to combat any further decline by asking the public to make their gardens more suitable for stag beetles.”

Additionally, the organisation is also co-funding the new European Stag Beetle Monitoring Network, launched this month.

The network comprises 16 partner institutes and universities in 13 European countries, from Portugal and Sweden, to Italy and the UK.

The project aims to assess population levels in Europe, monitoring the stag beetle’s full range.

Volunteers are needed to carry out a simple survey, and participants can choose their own 500m transect.

Volunteers just need to walk their patch six times during June and July and record any stag beetles seen.

To find out more and to take part, please visit www.stagbeetlemonitoring.org.