Beetle?
Love your site! Took your advice and purchased Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America to aid in identifying the interesting insects I often photograph. However, after searching the book and through all your pages of beetles, I couldn’t identify this guy (or gall). It appears to be a beetle, but can’t determine for sure. The photo was taken in Florida on April 18, 2002. Any ideas?
Shane

Hi Shane,
This is a Blister Beetle in the family Meloidae. We believe it is the Florida Blister Beetle, Epicauta floridensis, based on images posted to BugGuide. We will consult Eric Eaton, who authored the Kaufman Guide, to see if he agrees.

Confirmation: (12/31/2007)
Hi, Daniel:
I agree the blister beetle is in the genus Epicauta. Beyond that, I can’t say. Epicauta is probably decades overdue for a revision, and I dare say that molecular studies will reveal many more species than are presently described. Sometimes, identification to only genus level (or even family in some cases) is quite an accomplishment all by itself:-) Good work.
Eric

PLEASE IDENTIFY
Hi …
Attached is a photo I took of some beetles around the first of October. There were literally hundreds of them mating on that particular day. I haven’t seen them before and the next day they were gone. The location is in Southern Ontario, Canada (Toronto) and the landscape is close to a river and in one of the last remaining Oak Savanahs in Canada. Our concern is that in Western Canada there is an infestation of Long Horned Asian beetles which has been killing many trees. We hope these are not related. Please identify and reply at your earliest convenience. Thanks in advance,
John Morrow

Hi John,
These are mating Oil Beetles or Short Winged Blister Beetles in the genus Meloe. There is some very interesting information found on BugGuide regarding these beetles including this by Jim McClarin: “Meloe life cycle can be very complex In at least one Meloe species, the larvae climb to the top of a grass or weed stalk as a group, clump together in the shape of a female solitary ground bee, exude a scent that is the same as, or closely resembles, the pheromones of the female bee, and wait for a male ground bee to come along. When he does, he tries to mate with the clump of larvae, whereupon they individually clamp onto his hairs. He then flies away, finds and mates with one or several real female bees, and the larvae transfer to the female(s). Each impregnated female bee then flies off and builds one to several nests in burrows she digs in the soil, and the larvae transfer again to the new nests. The female bee stocks these nests with honey and pollen for her own young, but the hungry blister beetle young are there to gobble up the provisions. They eventually pupate and finally emerge as adult flightless beetles. Brothers and sisters find each other and mate, produce eggs and the hatchlings start the process all over. Then there are male beetles from a couple other beetle families who seek out blister beetles, climb onto them and lick off the cantharidin the blister beetles exude. Not only have these other beetles developed a resistance to the cantharidin, they use the blistering agent to impress a female of their own species who then mates with them, whereupon most of the cantharidin is transfered to the female in the form of a sperm packet. The eggs the female subsequently lays are coated with cantharidin to protect them from being eaten before they hatch. Then there are the bipedal primates who use cantharidin from blister beetles to manufacture the notorious date rape drug, Spanish Fly… “

Hello, What’s this bug?

A Desert Spider Beetle, Cysteodemus armatus.

Mating black blister beetles
Great website you have there – here’s a contribution to your bug love page: these lovely insects swarmed a bush in my back yard in New Maryland, N.B. and proceeded to gorge on the blossoms and have a huge orgy at the same time. The proceedings went on for about 24 hours, after which all the blossoms were gone and everyone went away satisfied! Good thing I didn’t handle any of them as I did not know what they were at the time! Kathy Power

Hi Kathy,
Your wonderful photograph depicts Blister Beetles in the genus Lytta, as evidenced by the bead-like antennae, but we are not certain of the species. Perhaps Eric Eaton can provide the exact species.

New Mexico beetle
On a trip from Oklahoma to the west coast, I came across dozens if not a hundred or two of these beetles alongside I-40 in mid-New Mexico. I have had no success online in finding the ID. I will watch with interest for enlightenment. Thank you,
Betty LaRue
Oklahoma City, OK

Hi Betty,
Congratulations on recognizing this as a beetle. It is a Blister Beetle in the genus Megetra.

big black one in Wyoming
Dear Bugman,
I saw this amazing, tireless creature on the my front porch, and delayed her so I could take some pictures. Our house is on 12 acres outside Cheyenne, Wyoming, and we have Aspen and Blue Spruce in our yard, although most of the land around us is grassy prairie. The bug was about 1.5 inches long and leathery. It looked like a very tough, very big, very pregnant ant to me. Thanks for your assistance in identifying it.
Ellen Davis

Hi Ellen,
These could well be the finest photos of an Oil Beetle, Meloe angusticollis, one of the Blister Beetles, that we have ever received.