Short-winged Blister Beetle

Description:

About 8-10mm in length. Soft bodied beetles with long legs. Their wings are rather short and look like armor plating on their abdomen and are flightless. The one I found was shiny metallic dark blue. The heads of these beetles are larger than the thorax, but the abdomen is the largest feature. The tarsal claw (feet) forms into two hooks.

Habitat:

Whenever I find these guys they are crawling in the grass. Their large mouth parts are used for chewing foliage and adults tend to be found on flowers or foliage of alfafa, legumes, potatoes, and other ornamental and garden plants. The immature stages can be found waiting for bees on flowers, or in solitary bee hives.

Notes:

When threatened the Short-winged Blister Beetle feigns death and exudes an orange liquids from its joints. This is known as reflex bleeding and all blister beetles and several other insect families share this defense mechanism. The orange liquid contains high concentrations of the toxin cantharidin which deters many predators. It is know to cause blisters in humans within 24 hours of contact, so handle with care! Blister beetles are toxic and can cause major problems for horse breeders. They are common in alfalfa fields and get baled in hay which is then consumed by horses who get sick and die. Another interesting fact about short-winged blister beetles is that the larvae hatch from eggs as active triungulins* that wait on flowers for a bee to clasp onto. The bee then carries it to the hive where it feeds on the nectar for the bee larvae (and may also consume the larvae as well). *A triungulin is a mobile first instar with three claws.