Here's a bright surprise for the New Year!
I spotted this little bugger in one of the worm farms this morning and was very very happy to see it.
It's a Rove Beetle (also called by the much cooler name 'Devil's Coach Horse') Croephilus erythrocephalus (the taxonomic name means 'red headed flesh lover'😱). As I have a bit of a thing for redheads, I thought I'd celebrate with a post!
Rove Beetles are predators of Aphids, Mites, gnats, nematodes, thrips.... you get the picture! My interest in them is that they live to eat maggots, which is a good thing for a worm farmer!
The females lay their eggs in decomposing carrion, which is somehow how they got the name 'Devil's Coach Horse' which puzzles me because they don't occur in coaches or horses. Hmmm common names are a laugh some times.
What's the weirdest common name for an insect or plant or neighbour that you've come across?