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European oil beetle

Meloe proscarabaeus

Photo by craigwilliams
Published on Project Noah
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36.9658, -2.20651

Field Notes

Description:

Coleoptera.
Some kind of Devil's Coach Horse?
The red spot behind the eye doesn't tally with other photos I've seen

Habitat:

Jojoba plantation

Species ID Suggestions

European oil beetle

Meloe proscarabaeus

Reference Link
Noe and Pili
2

Comments (3)
oxyjack
Very nice meloid beetle. You're right, the males are smaller than the females.
craigwilliams
Great! thank you all. It certainly looks like Meloe proscarabaeus to my untrained eye. There are some more pics deep in this here laptop with a much smaller one which I presumed was a male, following her around. I assumed he was male, because she was ignoring him!

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Biodiversidad en España/Spain
Photographed
PublishedOctober 8, 2011

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