red headed yellow winged?
Location: Phoenix, AZ
April 22, 2011 11:48 pm
I saw this bug walking across the parking lot at my wife’s work.. We live in Phoenix, AZ.. It had 6 legs. I thought it looked like a giant red ant. Thanks for any and all info you have on it.
Signature: Ben

Iron Cross Blister Beetle

Dear Ben,
This is an Iron Cross Blister Beetle, and each spring we get several identification requests from their range in California and Arizona.  Your letter is our first report for 2011, though we did receive one report in December 2010 that is most likely due to the unusual weather pattern and unseasonal rains since late 2010.  All Blister Beetles should be handled with care as they are able to secrete a compound known as cantharidin that can cause skin to blister.

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arizona beetle
Location: Parker Arizona
April 4, 2011 2:13 pm
Hi i was taking pictures for my homework when i ran across this bug and i was wondering what it is?
Signature: Ernie

Desert Spider Beetle

Dear Ernie,
What kind of picture taking homework are you doing?  This amazing beetle is one of the Blister Beetles and it is known as a Desert Spider Beetle or Inflated Beetle.  Blister Beetles have complex life cycles with the larval stage undergoing radical metamorphosis, passing through stages where it is grub-like and stages where is it more mobile.  According to BugGuide:  “Larvae have been found in subterranean nests of solitary bees.”

Big green bug
Location: Auburn, NJ
March 19, 2011 7:27 am
Hi,
I left a bucket by my flower garden overnight. It’s crocus blooming time here in Salem County, NJ This guy was in the bottom next day when I went out.
I’ve assumed itis a beetle, just by size. Though his head is so big, like a giant ant. Has a sort of metallic green/grey/blue color, though some ashes I’d hauled in same bucket gave him a dusting of white specks.
I have no clue. Have been browsing through guides all morning, but nothing quite matches up. And though I have lived here all my life, never saw one quite like him before.
Any ideas? Appreciate your help.
Signature: Val

Oil Beetle

Hi Val,
This is a Blister Beetle in the genus Meloe, a group collectively called Oil Beetles.  They should be handled with caution as they might cause blistering to the skin.

Wow, that was fast!  Thank you so much. No, I wasn’t going to dare touch it directly, not knowing what it was, regardless. I looked at the link you sent and see clearly what I’d missed in my browsing this morning.  Wondering now if this population is part of the bee decline in recent years?  I see more wild than honey bees now than previously, though they seem to be making a gradual comeback.
Pleased me to see Carolus Linneaus mentioned as being the first to describe it correctly back in 1758.  His student, Peter Kalm actually lived nearby here, in Swedesboro for awhile, sent many native specimens over to Linnaeus in Sweden.  I’ll pass this link along to my friends at the Swedish Colonial Society.  Maybe they’d consider it as a mascot?  Ok, just kidding, but still, very cool.
I also shared the link to your site on facebook .  You’re providing a great service for those of us who may lack the scientific background, but with digital photography, and access to the web, coupled with plenty of curiosity ….could be I’ll be back again.
Thanks again,
Val

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Beetle
Location: Brownsville, Texas
January 10, 2011 11:38 am
This beetles is approximately 1.25 inches long. Reddish brown with black spots, legs and pinchers. Sorry they’re a bit blurry.
Signature: Pam Neuburg

Large Eared Blister Beetle: Cissites auriculata

Hi Pam,
This positively spectacular looking beetle is a Blister Beetle, Cissites auriculata, the Large Eared Blister Beetle.  According to BugGuide, the range is “West and South Texas, Mexico south to Costa Rica. Bahamas & Puerto Rico.”  There is a posting on BugGuide with a very robust comment section, including:  “This probably is only the 2nd record from Texas (& the USA). Lewis recorded the species from the Chisos Mts. in 2004 (Coleop. Bull. 58: 635). The genus is known to parasitize Xylocopa”  which are Carpenter Bees.

Large Eared Blister Beetle

Thank you so very much! Love your site.
Pam Neuburg

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