Blister beetle

Blister Beetle

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Blister beetle

Beetle

Beetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species. They are placed in the order Coleoptera , which contains more described species than in any other order in the animal, constituting about 25% of all known life-forms....
s (Coleoptera) in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Meloidae are commonly known as blister beetles. There are approximately 2,500 known species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be predators.

are known as "blister beetles" because they secrete cantharidin

Cantharidin

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Blister beetle'

Start a new discussion about 'Blister beetle'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Beetle

Family (biology)

Species

Description

They are known as "blister beetles" because they secrete cantharidin

Cantharidin

Cantharidin, a type of terpenoid, is a poisonous chemical compound secreted by many species of blister beetle, and most notably by the Spanish fly, Lytta vesicatoria....
, a poisonous chemical causing blistering of the skin and painful swelling. Cantharidin is used medically to remove warts, and is collected for this purpose from species of the genera Mylabris and Lytta, especially Lytta vesicatoria, better known as "Spanish fly".

Blister beetles are hypermetamorphic, going through several larval stages, the first of which is typically a mobile triungulin. The larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e are insectivorous, mainly attacking bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyly lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila....
s, though a few feed on grasshopper

Grasshopper

Grasshoppers are insects of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish them from Tettigoniidae, they are sometimes referred to as short-horned grasshoppers....
eggs; while sometimes considered parasitoid

Parasitoid

A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its biological life cycle attached to or within a single host organism which it ultimately kills in the process....
s, it appears that in general, the meloid larva consumes the immature host along with its provisions, and can often survive on the provisions alone, thus they are not obligatory parasitoids but rather food parasites that are facultatively parasitoid, or simply predatory. The adults sometimes feed on flowers and leaves of plants of such diverse families like Amaranthaceae

Amaranthaceae

The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 160 genera and 2,400 species. Most of these species are herbs or shrubs; very few are trees or climbers....
, Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The family Asteraceae or Compositae is the largest family of flowering plants, in terms of number of species.The name 'Asteraceae' is derived from the type genus Aster , while 'Compositae', an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the characteristic inflorescence, a special type of pseudanthium found in o...
, Fabaceae

Fabaceae

Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of flowering plants, which is commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family....
, and Solanaceae

Solanaceae

The Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants, that contains a number of important agricultural plants as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear....
.

Toxicity

The blister beetle genus Epicauta is highly toxic to horse

Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
s. A few beetles consumed in a single feeding of alfalfa

Alfalfa

Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop. In the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand it is known as lucerne and as lucerne grass in south Asia....
hay may be lethal. Poisonings have also been reported after use of "Spanish fly

Spanish fly

The Spanish fly is an emerald-green beetle in the family Meloidae, Lytta vesicatoria. Other species of blister beetle used in apothecary are often called by the same name....
"-type folk medicines, and after handling blister beetle individuals. The toxic chemical is cantharidin

Cantharidin

Cantharidin, a type of terpenoid, is a poisonous chemical compound secreted by many species of blister beetle, and most notably by the Spanish fly, Lytta vesicatoria....
.

Systematics

Subfamily Eleticinae

Tribe Derideini

Anthicoxenus
Deridea
Iselma
Iselmeletica

Tribe Morphozonitini

Ceriselma
Morphozonitis
Steniselma

Tribe Eleticini

Eletica

Tribe Spasticini

Eospasta
Protomeloe
Spastica
Xenospasta

Subfamily Meloinae

Tribe Cerocomini

Anisarthrocera
Cerocoma
Diaphorocera
Rhampholyssa
Rhampholyssodes

Tribe Epicautini

Denierella
Epicauta
Linsleya
Psalydolytta

Tribe Eupomphini

Cordylospasta
Cysteodemus
Eupompha
Megetra
Phodaga
Pleropasta
Tegrodera

Tribe Lyttini

Acrolytta
Afrolytta
Alosimus
Berberomeloe
Cabalia
Dictyolytta
Eolydus
Epispasta
Lagorina
Lydomorphus
Lydulus
Lydus
Lytta
Lyttolydulus
Lyttonyx
Megalytta
Muzimes
Oenas
Oenas

Oenas is a genus of blister beetle related to the well-known Lytta vesicatoria . The genus is Mediterranean in its distribution ....
Parameloe
Paroenas
Physomeloe
Prionotolytta
Prolytta
Pseudosybaris
Sybaris
Teratolytta
Tetraolytta
Trichomeloe

Tribe Meloini

Cyaneolytta
Lyttomeloe
Meloe
Meloe

The blister beetle genus Meloe is a large, widespread group commonly referred to as oil beetles. They are known as "oil beetles" because they release oily droplets of hemolymph from their joints when disturbed; this contains cantharidin, a poisonous chemical causing blistering of the skin and painful swelling....
Spastomeloe
Spastonyx

Tribe Mylabrini

Actenodia
Ceroctis
Croscherichia
Hycleus
Lydoceras
Mimesthes
Mylabris
Paractenodia
Pseudabris
Semenovilia
Xanthabris

Tribe Pyrotini

Bokermannia
Brasiliota
Denierota
Glaphyrolytta
Lyttamorpha
Picnoseus
Pseudopyrota
Pyrota
Wagneronota

Genera incertae sedis
Incertae sedis

Incertae sedis , abbreviation "inc. sed.", is a term used to define a taxonomy group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined....

Australytta
Calydus
Gynapteryx
Oreomeloe
Pseudomeloe

Subfamily Nemognathinae

Tribe Horiini Cissites
Horia
Synhoria
Tribe Nemognathini Cochliophorus
Euzonitis
Gnathium
Gnathonemula
Leptopalpus
Megatrachelus
Nemognatha
Palaestra
Palaestrida
Pseudozonitis
Rhyphonemognatha
Stenodera
Zonitis
Zonitodema
Zonitolytta
Zonitomorpha
Zonitoschema
Tribe Sitarini Allendeselazaria
Apalus
Ctenopus
Glasunovia
Nyadatus
Sitaris
Sitarobrachys
Stenoria
Genera incertae sedis
Incertae sedis

Incertae sedis , abbreviation "inc. sed.", is a term used to define a taxonomy group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined....

Hornia
Onyctenus
Sitaromorpha
Tricrania

Subfamily Tetraonycinae

Tribe Tetraonycini

Meloetyphlus
Opiomeloe
Tetraonyx

Footnotes

External links

on the UF
University of Florida

The University of Florida is a Public university land-grant university, sea grant colleges, Space grant colleges major research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States....
/ IFAS
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

The University of Florida?s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible....
Featured Creatures Web site
on the UF
University of Florida

The University of Florida is a Public university land-grant university, sea grant colleges, Space grant colleges major research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States....
/ IFAS
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

The University of Florida?s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible....
Featured Creatures Web site