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Blister Beetle

Coleoptera

Description:

Cantharidin is a poisonous chemical that causes blistering of the skin. Blister beetles are hypermetamorphic, going through several larval stages, the first of which is typically a mobile triungulin. The larvae are insectivorous, mainly attacking bees, though a few feed on grasshopper eggs; while sometimes considered parasitoids, in general, the meloid larva apparently consumes the immature host along with its provisions, and can often survive on the provisions alone, thus it is not an obligatory parasitoid, but rather a facultative parasitoid, or simply predatory. The adults sometimes feed on flowers and leaves of plants of such diverse families as Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae.

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Sarasota, Florida, USA

Spotted on Apr 26, 2015
Submitted on Apr 30, 2015

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