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Helpston's wildlife

Devil's Coach Horse

A strange looking - but relatively common - beetle that turned up at Swaddywell recently (under a sheet of corrugated iron left behind from the days of the race track) is the strangely named Devil's Coach Horse.

In mythology this beetle was a symbol of corruption, apparently able to kill on sight! It is said that it appears after meeting with the devil and that it will eat sinners!!

In fact it is a rove beetle, a carnivore and a scavenger, feeding on spiders and smaller beetles.

It defends itself by raising its tail and squirting two nauseous smelling chemicals from its glands whilst snapping its jaws!