Ocypus olens
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The devil's coach-horse beetle (Ocypus olens) is a species of beetle belonging to the large family of the rove beetles (Staphylinidae). It was originally included in the genus Staphylinus in 1764, and some authors and biologists still use this classification.
The Latin species name olens, meaning "smelling", refers to the two white stinking glands on the abdomen. This beetle has been associated with the Devil since the Middle Ages, hence its common name, which has been used at least since 1840. Other names include devil's footman, devil's coachman, and devil's steed. It is sometimes also known as the cock-tail beetle for its habit of raising its abdomen.
One dictionary suggested that the name developed in parallelism with ladybird and its Norse cognates. In Irish, the beetle is called dearga-daol or darbh-daol. The Irish also called it "the coffin cutter." 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. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Milan | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 9 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Devil's Coach Horse Beetle sighting in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 576th most-seen of the 1277 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Devil's Coach Horse Beetle in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, August and November–April, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Devil's Coach Horse Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Devil's Coach Horse Beetle sightings, Pyrénées National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Snowdonia National Park (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%).
Same family: Staphylinidae
The closest relatives of the Devil's Coach Horse Beetle that you can see in Pyrénées National Park (family Staphylinidae, Rove Beetles) are Lesser Vespillo Burying Beetle (about 10%), Black Snail Beetle (about 10%) and Vespillo Burying Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Devil's Coach Horse Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Pyrénées National Park (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
