Thursday, 17 December 2020 | 6.6°C Dublin, Menu Devil’s coach horse beetle is a black, predatory, scorpion looking insect that is often mistaken for a stinger. It is well known for its habit of raising its long and uncovered abdomen and opening its jaws,[2] rather like a scorpion when threatened. Fieldfare. Asked by Wiki User. This beetle is commonly found in damp areas in a garden, woodland or hedgerow. [4] This beetle has been associated with the Devil since the Middle Ages,[1] hence its common name, which has been used at least since 1840. It hunts on foot and can tackle large prey like an adult earthworm or a big slug. More and more people have been reporting sightings of this type of beetle in their Milton Keynes homes in the past few days - but what is it and are they dangerous? There are cases of tens of thousands of ladybirds being found in homes during the winter. It is sometimes also known as the cock-tail beetle[6] for its habit of raising its abdomen. Food and Habitat: Devil's coach horse beetles are active at night, when they consume small slugs and snails, and a wide range of other invertebrates. Rove beetles, or Staphylinidae, make up the largest beetle family in North America, with approximately 4360 species known from the continent (Evans 2014). The world around us is so diverse that it seems it will never stop surprising us. The Devil's coach horse is a common beetle of gardens, and can often be found under stones and in compost heaps. Devil’s Coach Horse Beetle (Ocypus olens) Identification: Adult beetle: 25-28mm in length, long thin body, black in colour. When disturbed, these beetles adopt an aggressive stance, curling up their rear ends and opening their powerful jaws. Just found this in my backyard, I thought it was Devils Coach Horse beetle but it doesnt look like they live here (Americas) roughly 1 inch long. This member of the Rove Beetle family can inflict a painful bite on an unsuspecting human thanks to these massive jaws. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Devil%27s_coach_horse_beetle&oldid=994653206, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 16 December 2020, at 20:50. close. It is their roving habit that results in them sometimes entering people's homes. This is one of our favorite insects, a non-native Rove Beetle that has been introduced to California from Europe that is commonly called a Devil’s Coach Horse. The Devil’s Coach Horse belongs to the Rove Beetle family, called the Staphylinidae which are sometimes referred to as the ‘Staphs’ for short. share. It also emits a foul smelling odor. Since medieval times the beetle has been associated with the devil, curses and superstition. Devil’s coach horse beetle. It is also common along hedgerows and in grassland. I have only ever seen this bug in the UK once in the last 20 years and we call them "The devil's coach-horse beetle" if memory serves me. 4:00pm - 7:00pm. You are unlikely to see one in the daytime as they spend the daylight hours hiding amongst the leaf-litter or under stones. The woman who could become the next Black Panther. They are an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of beetles, and commonly encountered in terrestrial ecosystems. The Latin species name olens, meaning "smelling", refers to the two white stinking glands on the abdomen. [2] It belongs to the family of the rove beetles . They have a foul odor as a defense mechanism. Beetles to look out for. Devil's coach horses are voracious predators, emerging after dark to prey on other invertebrates, and using their pincer-like jaws to crush them. Designer files for divorce from 'Spider-Man' star. While it has small wing cases it seldom flies. 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