Image Credit: Katja Schulz
Blister-beetles (Meloidae: Epicauta+) – predators/ectoparasites of grasshoppers and egg cases in the ground. These beetles are in enormous abundance in the late summer where they feed on nectar, mate, and even consume flower parts for their water. (Interestingly there are some natural meadows where they don’t seem to occur.) They will visit nearly any flowering species, butt are always most abundant on members of the aster family, probably because of the additional support for their weight. Living in the same meadows are likely to be species related to Lytta, which are ectoparasites of larval bees. Species of both feeding types are found throughout the world. The blood of blister-beetles causes blisters to erupt from people’s skin.
Blister-beetles are characterized by leathery bendable elytra (“shield wings”). On the left is Epicauta, an extremely abundant ectoparasite of grasshopper egg cases. The related Nemognatha & Zonitis (on the right) is more adapted to flower-visitation; notice the immensely long palps (= tongue) for extraction of nectar from the tubular flowers of thistle.