Devil's coach horse beetle

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The devil's coach-horse beetle (Ocypus olens) is a species of beetle belonging to the large family of the rove beetles (Staphylinidae).<ref name="Nield">Template:Cite journal</ref> It was originally included in the genus Staphylinus in 1764,<ref name=AA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and some authors and biologists still use this classification.

Etymology

The Latin species name olens, meaning "smelling", refers to the two white stinking glands on the abdomen.<ref name=BB/> This beetle has been associated with the Devil since the Middle Ages,{{#if:|[[#endnote_{{{1}}}|{{{2}}}]]|[1]}} hence its common name, which has been used at least since 1840.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other names include devil's footman, devil's coachman, and devil's steed. It is sometimes also known as the cock-tail beetle<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> for its habit of raising its abdomen.

One dictionary suggested that the name developed in parallelism with ladybird and its Norse cognates.<ref>A Dictionary of English Etymology. Trübner & Company, 1862</ref> In Irish, the beetle is called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}<ref>Ainmeacha Plandaí agus Ainmhithe (1978) Oifig an tSoláthair</ref> or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla: an Irish-English dictionary, being a thesaurus of the words, phrases and idioms of the modern Irish language; compiled and edited by Patrick S. Dinneen. New edition, revised and greatly enlarged. xxx, 1344 p. Dublin: published for the Irish Texts Society by the Educational Company of Ireland, 1927.</ref> The Irish also called it "the coffin cutter."<ref>Frank Cowan, Curious Facts in the History of Insects; “Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction” vol.xix p180.</ref> British folklore has it that a beetle has eaten the core of Eve's apple, and that a person who crushes such a beetle is forgiven seven sins.<ref name="DanielsStevans2003">Template:Cite book</ref>

Subspecies

Subspecies within this species include:<ref name=DD/>

  • O. o. azoricus (Méquignon, 1942)
  • O. o. olens (O. Müller, 1764)

Distribution and habitat

These very common and widespread beetles are present in most of Europe and in North Africa. They have also been introduced to parts of the United States and Canada, specifically Oregon, Washington, California, and parts of British Columbia.<ref name=AA/> They prefer areas with damp conditions and can be found from April to October in meadows, heath and moorland, woodlands, hedgerows, and parks and gardens. During the day, they commonly stay under logs, stones, or leaf litter.<ref name=BB>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=CC/>

Description

File:Ocypus olens preying on Cymbalophora pudica.webm
O. olens preying on a moth (Cymbalophora pudica)

It is a long-bodied, black beetle. At about Template:Convert,<ref name=CC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> it is one of the larger European beetles. Its wing covers (elytra) are short, covering only its thorax, exposing the abdominal segments. The abdominal musculature is powerful and the abdominal segments are covered with sclerotized plates. It is capable of flight, but its wings are rarely used. It is covered with fine, black hairs. It is well known for its habit of raising its long and uncovered abdomen and opening its jaws,<ref name="Nield"/> rather like a scorpion when threatened.<ref name=BB/> Although it has no sting, it can give a painful bite with its strong, pincer-like jaws. It emits a foul-smelling odour, as a defensive secretion, from a pair of white glands at the end of its abdomen.<ref name="Nield"/>

Biology and diet

It is a predator, hunting mainly by night, feeding on a range of invertebrates, including worms, slugs, spiders, and woodlice, as well as carrion.<ref name=BB/> The prey is caught in the mandibles, which are also used to cut and together with the front legs to manipulate the food into a bolus.<ref name=BB/> The bolus is repeatedly chewed and swallowed, emerging covered with a brown secretion from the foregut, until it is reduced to a liquid that is digested. Skin in the case of earthworms and hard materials from arthropods are left. The larvae are carnivorous with similar eating habits.<ref name=BB/>

Reproduction

O. olens mates in autumn. Females lay their eggs from 2–3 weeks after first mating.<ref name="Nield"/> They are large (Template:Convert) and white with a darker band and laid singly in damp conditions under moss, stones, cow manure, or leaf litter.<ref name=BB/> After around 30 days, the eggs split and the larvae emerge, white with a straw-coloured head.<ref name="Nield"/><ref name=BB/><ref>R. E. Orth, Ian Moore, T. W. Fisher & E. F. Legner. Biological Notes on Ocypus olens, a Predator of Brown Garden Snail, with Descriptions of the Larva and Pupa (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). — Division of Biological Control, Citrus Research and Agricultural Experiment Station, University of California, Riverside, 1975. — pp. 292—298.</ref> The larva lives largely underground, and feeds on similar prey to the adult and has the same well-developed mandibles.<ref name=BB/> It adopts the same display with open jaws and raised tail when threatened.<ref name="Nield"/>

The larva goes through three stages of growth (instars), the final stage ranging from 20 to 26 mm in length.<ref name="Nield"/> Around 150 days old,<ref name=BB/> the larva pupates for about 35 days<ref name="Nield"/> and emerges as an adult with its final colouring, fully formed except for the wings, which cannot be folded neatly beneath the elytra for several hours. Adults can survive a second winter, some by hibernating in burrows and not emerging until March, while others remain active.<ref name=BB/>

References

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