Summary

  • The cockamouse from How I Met Your Mother was a popular and funny gag, and was inspired by real-life events.
  • The physical appearance of the cockamouse was influenced by a beetle found in Britain that has similar features.
  • The cockchafer is less intimidating than the cockamouse and is harmless to humans, living for only 4–5 weeks.

Considering that it was a permanent fixture in the main gang's lives and was part of a lot of storylines, some How I Met Your Mother fans have been wondering whether the cockamouse is real or not. First introduced in season 1, episode 7, "Matchmaker," the cockamouse was a creature (half cockroach, half mouse) that inhabited Lily, Marshall, and Ted's apartment and tormented them for years on end. The gang were often scared of this hybrid creature for it was said to have a large body (which, according to Marshall, was the size of a potato), whiskers, a hard exoskeleton, an antenna, and was able to fly.

Eventually, the cockamouse became one of How I Met Your Mother's best and funniest gags as it appeared that the creature was terrorizing the whole of New York since the newspapers began to report sightings of it (season 6, episode 8, "Natural History") and Ted later discovered that the cockamouse had relocated to the Arcadian and had begun breeding (season 6, episode 22, "The Perfect"). While Alyson Hannigan confirmed in an interview with The Huffington Post that the whole cockamouse story was inspired by an event that occurred in producer Kourtney Kang's life, another creature was seen to influence it's creation as well.

RELATED: What Happened To The Cockamouse In How I Met Your Mother

Britain’s Cockchafer Looks Like How I Met Your Mother's Cockamouse

An image of the British Cockchafer sitting on a piece of wood

While the size of the Cockamouse may have been inspired by a rat or mouse, it does appear that the cockamouse's physical appearance comes from the cockchafer. Also known to some as Maybugs, the cockshafer is a beetle that can often be found in Britain, tormenting the residents in their homes with their loud buzzing sounds (via Discover Wildlife). Like the cockamouse, the cockshafer has feathery antennaes, six legs, fur coating its body, and has the ability to fly. They also often aggravate agricultural workers by feeding on their crops, leaves, and flowers.

The Small Beetle Is Less Scary Than HIMYM's Cockamouse

An image of Marshall and Lily holding a chalk figure of the Cockamouse

Although the cockachafer and How I Met Your Mother's cockamouse share a lot of similar features, the beetle isn't as intimidating as Marshall and Lily's nemesis. For one, the British beetle is around 3cm long (which would mean that it would have been far easier for the gang to catch). The reddish-brown beetle is also more harmless than the cockamouse as it isn't known to attack the residents, instead sticking to the gardens or woodland areas. Unfortunately, none of the creatures would even get the chance to have a big or as great of a legacy as the cockamouse since the adult beetles only live for around 4–5 weeks.

Source: Discover Wildlife