It was a bright and warm Friday, and I was on a nature walk around Occam pond. The pond, which was barren in our first class visit, was now a bright shade of green. The atmosphere was uplifting, despite the bleakness that always surrounds finals week. I saw animals everywhere: sparrows and songbirds flitted through the bushes, crows cawed overhead, and squirrels ran through the grass.

I had planned to walk a full circle around the pond, but I decided to sit down so I could soak in the scene. Finals is a stressful time, and nothing is a better destresser than just sitting in the sun. Unable to sit near the pond because the flora was so thick, I sat on a large pothole cover by the road. A small chipmunk darted back and forth from where I was sitting, and I managed to snap a few photos. It was a chestnut brown color, with three stripes running down its back, and about 5 inches long.

As I was photographing the chipmunk darting in and out of the grasses, I noticed a small black insect lumbering towards me. From a distance it looked like a large ant, because it was a dark shade of black and had 3 distinct body segments, each with 2 legs.

As it moved closer, I realized it wasn’t an ant. It’s body was too wide, its tail too long, and its back was too gray. It also didn’t look like any beetle I had ever seen before. The beetle was the length of a penny, but its spiky black tail accounted for half its length. It had a broad head and clearly visible jaws, and legs that seemed thick for its size.

Curious about what this species might be, I prodded near it with a stick. It sprung into attack mode! Rather than run away from me, it curled its tail towards me, like a scorpion would. It’s entire body was contorted into a u-shape; both its jaws and tail (stinger?) were now angled at me.

“What kind of fearsome insect would try to fight a species thousands of time its size?” I thought to myself. “Is it trying to sting me?” I even thought it might be some kind of scorpion.

As it turns out, the insect I was obliviously prodding was a Devil’s coach horse beetle, a carnivorous insect with a swiss-army knife of tools. The Devil’s coach horse beetle is ready to take on humans (and insects) because it has two powerful tools at its disposal. It has disproportionately powerful jaws that can deliver a painful bite to unsuspecting humans or unlucky insects. It’s tail lacks a stinger, but can emit a foul-smelling odor gross enough to deter predators.

The beetle is named for its long running association with the devil. Its original name, the dearga-dol, is Irish for “devil’s bug.” British folklore says that the beetle ate the core of Eden’s apple, and that by killing one of the bugs, one is forgiven for 7 sins.

My Journal Entry Recording the Incident

After I learned what this species was, I was relieved that I hadn’t poked the creature more than once! I easily could have ended up with a nasty bite or a noseful of odiferous gas. If you ever run into one of these insects, don’t poke them like I did! They are not aggressive towards humans, but they will defend themselves if threatened. They are also nocturnal, so you aren’t likely to see them during the day.

Tread safely, fellow naturalists.

Leo W.