Woman rescues rare extremely beetle causing chaos in Nandos
A nature-lover who happened upon a commotion outside a branch of Nando's has told how it led her to stage a rescue mission for a rare rhinoceros beetle.
Emma Mitchell, a writer from Cambridge, took to her Twitter profile to reveal how she'd been on her way home from the cinema when she noticed the small crowd gathering outside the restaurant, and discovered they'd been staring at a beetle the 'size of a Creme Egg'.
Emma said some people had mistaken it for a cockroach and were threatening to squash it, prompting her to intervene by scooping it into a paper takeaway bag from Nando's, folding it 'origami' style so the creature couldn't escape, and driving it to a suitably green area to be released.
The writer, who told on Twitter how she'd had to pull over earlier than intended when the beetle began 'whirring' and 'scratching' inside the bag on her passenger seat, and was forced to sit down to regain her composure after it flew at her face like a 'small dark helicopter'.
Emma, whose Twitter thread recounting her comical adventure went viral, said that upon Googling the creature when she got home, she became convinced it was a 'very, very rare' rhinoceros beetle - the likes of which hasn't been seen in Britain in six years.
Emma Mitchell, a writer from Cambridge, told how she rescued a rare beetle which was wreaking havoc in a Nando's store in a hilarious Twitter thread which went viral
Taking to Twitter she shared a video of the brave creature scuttling along the pavement, explaining she had just left a screening of Oceans 8.
'I was making my way to the carpark when I noticed a commotion in front of Nando's. Several people were gathered round something on the floor. One or two saying 'It's a cockroach!' she wrote.
She continued: 'It wasn't a cockroach, it was a huge beautiful beetle making it's way inside the restaurant. The manageress was alarmed. 'It'll scare the customers' she says. It would have done. It was the size of a creme egg and was walking jauntily towards the door like a tiny robot.'
And when Emma heard bystanders suggesting they kill it she decided to take action.
She tweeted: 'Squash it!' Someone suggested. I told them it was probably a stag beetle of some kind & that it was special.I offered to take it away. This was central Cambridge: masses of concrete & a couple of dried up pot plants. It needed to be in a wood I asked the manageress for a bag...
On closer inspection she found a crowd gathered around a beetle making a beeline for the restaurant, and threatening to squash it
Assuring them it wasn't a cockroach, Emma bravely decided to rescue the lost creature and embarked on a successful rescue mission
Explaining that she was keen to take it somewhere green, Emma told how she encouraged the beetle into a bag with a leaf, before folding it closed firmly and driving towards the countryside.
And while the beetle started out quietly, Emma was alarmed when she started hearing 'whirring noises' halfway through the journey.
Continuing her story, she wrote: 'Beetle and I were contented travelling companions for some miles... Then the clicking becomes significantly louder and a mechanical whirring begins. I do not panic. My folds were firm. I know origami.
'Beetle, it seems, takes exception to Manic Pixie Dream Girl pop. I glance at the bag nervously. It is moving. The whirring & clicking becomes louder as Regina sings about snowy scenes in New York. Beetle is done with this lightweight plainly plonky cobblers.'
Suddenly panicking that the beetle would break free in her car, Emma described how she made an emergency stop at the nearest green
Suddenly panicking that the beetle would break free in her car, she added: 'I reach my arm out tentatively and move the bag a little so I can see it more clearly. The folds I made are bulging, the top of the bag lurching upwards rhythmically.
'At this point I fear flying insects getting caught in my hair like I fear the faces of old dolls. I have dreams about this. Flying insects DO get caught in my hair: it's a gargantuan fright wig.'
Describing the beetle, Emma wrote: 'This beetle was jewel-like, a deep red as though it were carved from garnet but it was bloody massive, like no beetle I'd seen before. I knew it had shiny hard wing cases. It had a huge nose horn. The whirring became deafening. The bag fell over. I lost my poise'.
Explaining that she loved nature but was shuddering and swearing in fear at the thought of the beetle breaking free, she told how she pulled over
Explaining that she loved nature but was shuddering and swearing in fear at the thought of the beetle breaking free, she told how she pulled over at the nearest village green in panic to finally release her travelling buddy.
'The beetle burst out like a small dark helicopter and flew up towards my face!' she tweeted, revealing that she'd had to sit down on the grass to 'gather my composure'.
Emma added that her Google research after she returned home suggested it was a rare rhinoceros beetle that hasn't been spotted in the UK in years.
'The beetle burst out like a small dark helicopter and flew up towards my face!' she admitted
'Only one has been seen in Britain in recent years. It was, is, very very rare & now lives in Stow Cum Quy. Go well six legged shiny pal, I'm glad I gave you a lift', she concluded.
Her story garnered over 10,000 retweets and favourite, gathering praise among followers.
One replied: 'This hilarious thread has made my day! Beetles are strong beasties. I found one on the carpet last night, put a plastic pot over it and went to get a card to slide under. By the time time I returned it had marched the pot right across the room!'
Another nervous follower added: 'After reading the whole thread I am so glad Im not the only person that applies the 'rescue & scream' technique when saving bugs.'
And one wrote: 'Emma, your strong beetle rescue tale complete with 'let's take this outside' taxi sack made me forget about politics for the blissful span of time it took to read it. What a breath of fresh air and thank you'.