An Illuminous Coloured Spider UK

Luminous, Illuminous, call it what you like, but wow, take a look at this spider I spotted that was just chilling on the leaf of a Grey Willow tree. Sometimes I'll see an insect that looks really strange, and then find out that it's nothing out of the ordinary to those in the know, and very common in the UK. In this case I am not sure. But this certainly looks very strange. The picture doesn't do it justice. In the flesh it looked much more bright green / yellow in appearance. Almost glowing! If you look at the close up picture it even has a purple back abdomen (Spinnerets).

Bright colours are usually a warning sign on animals and insects, but in many cases they are also just for show, and the animal / insect is harmless. I wouldn't put my money on this spider being harmless though, as many of the fake widows have left some seriously bad injuries on the people they have bitten.

Some victims have been left scarred for life, and some have even had to have body parts amputated. One case that springs to mind is where a woman had to have some fingers removed. This subject is making me itch! Does anyone know what type of spider this is? If so post a comment below.

The Devil's Coach Horse Insect

I love most insects (and nature in general), especially anything Beetle-like. The Devil's Coach Horse (strange name) is quite similar to a Beetle, and is actually part of the Rove Beetle species (Ocypus olens). Although, it also shares a trait of the Scorpion in the way that it raises its tail when it feels threatened, as if it's going to attack / sting the enemy. I believe the tail contains a gas-like smelly acid substance that they squirt at their enemy.

The jaws that the Devil's Coach Horse possesses certainly look capable of delivering a nasty little bite to another insect. The jaw is big, intimidating, and could easily kill a lot of insects of the same size or bigger. I bet it would hurt getting bitten by those jaws. I wouldn't like to find out!

I'm no expert on this insect, and I don't know for sure if this is actually a Devil's Coach Horse as there are quite a few insects that look very similar. A few minutes later.. Just researched it and it is definitely a Devils Coach horse. Anyway, spotted this one just relaxing on a blade of grass. In auto mode my camera couldn't manage to focus properly, and I must have taken around 10 - 12 blurred images. It's usually really good at close up / macro shots when in auto mode, but this time it was being a pain in the aine.

Annoyed and about to give up, I changed the camera to manual settings and actually chose "Close-up". I managed to get just one decent shot (pictured above) before the Coach Horse decided to slowly wander into the many layers of long, trampled down grass and disappear! I guess it was meant to be. They are not uncommon however, and can be found in many locations throughout the UK.