Stag beetle

A stag beetle in a dream is the dream's image of an ancient-looking creature whose display is mostly bluff. The huge jaws are for show and for wrestling other males; they cannot do real harm to a person, and the beetle is in fact slow and cautious. The dream brings the stag beetle when something in your life — a rival's posture, a piece of formal armour you have put on, a fearsome reputation — is impressive at the front and limited in its actual reach. A stag beetle walking past without engaging is the dream affirming that the armour does not need to be tested. A stag beetle locked into a long, slow grapple is the dream noting that the bluff has been called by another bluff, and the two displays are now wrestling without any of the cost a real fight would charge.