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Oil Beetle (short-winged blister beetle)

Meloe campanicollis

Photo by LisaPowers
Published on Project Noah
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36.2932, -87.0972

Field Notes

Description:

Blackish beetle with large, expandable abdomen

Habitat:

Suburban greenway though wooded hillside,

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (9)
injica
Thank you for your explanation :)
LisaPowers
They only secrete it when agitated. But they can be a danger to horses and other animals that eat hay that is contaminated with their body parts.
injica
I know that part, but still they would have to secrete it, wouldn't they? otherwise all their tracks would be contaminated and you would get a blister from being in the contact with grass or something? So, when they are secreting this?
LisaPowers
They are not aggressive at all. They just have a chemical in them called canthardin. Cantharidin, a type of terpenoid, is a chemical compound secreted by many species of blister beetle, and most notably by the Spanish fly, Lytta vesicatoria. The false blister beetles and cardinal beetles also produce cantharidin. It is a poisonous substance, acting as a blister agent, and can cause severe chemical burns, but these same properties make it effective as a topical medication.
LisaPowers
Haha...that is why I never had it on my hand. It looked like one to me!
injica
I had an encounter with blister bugs copulating yesterday...but they seemed so calmed, had anybody witness its attack? Are they aggressive usually?
KarenL
We had a lucky escape with this one - I suspect you wouldn't have been so keen to have it clambering on your hand if we had known it was a blister beetle!

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PublishedApril 17, 2013

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