The Spanish fly is an aposematic emerald-green beetle in the blister beetle family (Meloidae). It is distributed across Eurasia.
Cantharidin is an odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class, which is secreted by many species of blister beetles. It is a burn agent or a poison in large doses, but preparations containing it were historically used as aphrodisiacs. In its natural form, cantharidin is secreted by the male blister beetle and given to the female as a copulatory gift during mating. Afterwards, the female beetle covers her eggs with it as a defense against predators.
Yellowjacket or yellow jacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these are black and yellow like the eastern yellowjacket Vespula maculifrons and the aerial yellowjacket Dolichovespula arenaria; some are black and white like the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata. Others may have the abdomen background color red instead of black. They can be identified by their distinctive markings, their occurrence only in colonies, and a characteristic, rapid, side-to-side flight pattern prior to landing. All females are capable of stinging. Yellowjackets are important predators of pest insects.
Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some are aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be predators.
The family Oedemeridae is a cosmopolitan group of beetles commonly known as false blister beetles, though some recent authors have coined the name pollen-feeding beetles. There are some 100 genera and 1,500 species in the family, mostly associated with rotting wood as larvae, though adults are quite common on flowers. The family was erected by Pierre André Latreille in 1810.
A planidium is a specialized form of insect larva seen in the first-instar of a few families of insects that have parasitoidal ways of life. They are usually flattened, highly sclerotized (hardened), and quite mobile. The function of the planidial stage is to find a host on which the later larval instars may feed, generally until the insect pupates.
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
Megacyllene robiniae, commonly known as the locust borer, is a species of longhorn beetle endemic to eastern North America. It is a serious pest of Robinia pseudoacacia, the black locust tree, with which it is sympatric.
Lytta magister, the desert blister beetle or master blister beetle, is a species of blister beetle found in southwestern North America.
Meloe violaceus, the violet oil beetle, is a species of oil beetle belonging to the family Meloidae subfamily Meloinae.
Mylabris phalerata is a species of blister beetle, belonging to the Meloidae family. Known as the Chinese blister beetle or the banded blister beetle, it is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Lytta nuttalli, or Nuttall's blister beetle, is a species of North American beetle first described in 1824 by Thomas_Say. The genus Lytta is from a Latin word suggesting madness The specific nuttallii recognizes the contributions of Thomas Nuttall, a contemporary of Say.
Epicauta vittata is a species of beetle in the family Meloidae, the blister beetles. It is native to eastern North America, including eastern Canada and the eastern United States. It is known commonly as the striped blister beetle and the old-fashioned potato beetle. It is known as an agricultural pest.
Berberomeloe majalis, the red-striped oil beetle, is an insect in the genus Berberomeloe, in the family of Blister Beetles. It is native to the western Mediterranean Basin.
Stenoria analis, the ivy bee blister beetle, is a species of blister beetle from the family Meloidae which is found in western Europe and North Africa and is a specialst cleptoparasite of the ivy bee larvae. Its occurrence in regions outside of the known range of the ivy bee, for example in North Africa, suggest that it has other hosts.
Meloe franciscanus is a species of blister beetle in the family Meloidae. It is found in the deserts of the southwestern United States. The larvae are parasites of bee larvae, eating them and consuming their provisions.
Tegrodera aloga, the iron cross blister beetle, is a species of blister beetle in the family Meloidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
Apalus bimaculatus, the early blister beetle, is a species of blister beetle from the family Meloidae. It is the type species of the genus Apalus.
Sitaris muralis is a species of blister beetle in the subfamily Nemognathinae in the family Meloidae. It is found in Western Europe. It is a black beetle with buff-orange patches on the front of the elytra. It is a kleptoparasite of digger bees.
Mylabris pustulata is a species of blister beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, China and Java.
