Blister beetle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blister beetles |
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| Hycleus lugens: notice the warning colouration | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Meloidae Gyllenhaal, 1810 |
| Subfamilies | |
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Eleticinae |
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The blister beetle is a beetle of the family Meloidae. They secrete cantharidin, a chemical that causes blisters. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. They are poisonous to predators.
Blister beetles go through several larval stages. The larvae mainly attack bees. They also eat grasshopper eggs.
Blister beetles are attracted to alfalfa and weeds during bloom.
Images for kids
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Ivy bee (Colletes hederae), carrying parasitic triungulins of Stenoria analis
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Black blister beetle, Epicauta pennsylvanica (Meloinae: Epicautini)
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Cysteodemus armatus near Ridgecrest, California in the Mojave Desert: The white coating is cuticular wax, which can vary from white to yellow in this species [1].
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Blister beetles like this Lytta vesicatoria (Meloinae: Lyttini) can be safely handled, provided the animal is not startled, and allowed to move around freely. Otherwise, painful poisonings may occur.
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Meloe violaceus (Meloinae: Meloini): Note the drop of dark orange defensive fluid on its thorax.
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Mylabris quadripunctata (Meloinae: Mylabrini)
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A yellow-and-black species of Actenodia, one of many known in South Africa as "CMR beetle"
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Horia sp. from Bannerghatta (Bangalore)
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Sitaris muralis (Nemognathinae: Sitarini)
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See also
In Spanish: Meloidos para niños
