(See below for details about this beetle.)
As can be seen from the photographs above, this was one VERY wet session so the number of GGmers attending were a few and far between. Well done to those who did make the effort...!
Many thanks to Terry who, in spite of the inclement weather, managed to get some action shots without swamping his camera!
A note from Mark about the beetle above.
The Devil’s coach horse is a long, black beetle with short elytra (wing cases). At first glance you could mistake it for an earwig.
A nocturnal predator, this beetle lives in and around decaying matter. During the day it tends to rest among leaf litter or under stones. Females lay their eggs in the soil, and these hatch into carnivorous larvae.
It overwinters as a pupa in leaf litter or moss and emerges as an adult the following spring. If you disturb a Devil’s coach horse, it adopts an aggressive, scorpion-like position - it raises its rear end and opens its powerful jaws.
If it still feels threatened it squirts a foul-smelling fluid from its abdomen. Beware – this beetle can also give a painful bite.
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