They are large (4 mm (0.16 in)) and white with a darker band and laid singly in damp conditions under moss, stones, cow manure, or leaf litter. Females lay their eggs from 2–3 weeks after first mating. The larvae are also carnivorous with similar eating habits.
Skin (in the case of earthworms) and hard materials (from arthropods) are left. The bolus is repeatedly chewed and swallowed, emerging covered with a brown secretion from the foregut, until it is reduced to a liquid that is digested. The prey is caught in the mandibles, which are also used to cut and together with the front legs to manipulate the food into a bolus. It is a predator, hunting mainly by night, feeding on a range of invertebrates, including worms, slugs, spiders, small moths, and woodlice, as well as carrion. It also emits a foul-smelling odour, as a defensive secretion, from a pair of white glands at the end of its abdomen. Although it has no sting, it can give a painful bite with its strong, pincer-like jaws. It is well known for its habit of raising its long and uncovered abdomen and opening its jaws, rather like a scorpion when threatened. It is capable of flight, but its wings are rarely used. The abdominal musculature is powerful and the abdominal segments are covered with sclerotized plates. Its wing covers ( elytra) are short, covering only its thorax, exposing the abdominal segments. At about 20–32 mm (0.8–1.3 in), it is one of the larger British beetles. olens preying on a moth ( Cymbalophora pudica) During the day, they commonly stay under logs, stones, or leaf litter.
They prefer areas with damp conditions and can be found from April to October in meadows, heath and moorland, woodlands, hedgerows, and parks and gardens. They have also been introduced to the Americas and parts of Australasia. These very common and widespread beetles are present in most of Europe and in North Africa. British folklore has it that a beetle has eaten the core of Eve's apple, and that a person who crushes such beetle is forgiven seven sins. The Irish also called it "the coffin cutter. In Irish, the beetle is called dearga-daol or darbh-daol. One dictionary proposed the name developed in parallelism with ladybird and its Norse cognates. It is sometimes also known as the cock-tail beetle for its habit of raising its abdomen. Other names include devil's footman, devil's coachman, and devil's steed. This beetle has been associated with the Devil since the Middle Ages, hence its common name, which has been used at least since 1840. The Latin species name olens, meaning "smelling", refers to the two white stinking glands on the abdomen.
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