Nemognatha
Blister beetles in the genus Nemognatha have elongated mouthparts for sipping nectar. This individual was photographed in an American basket flower, Centaurea americana. Stengl Lost Pines Biological Station, Texas, USA.
Zonitis
A blister beetle is grubby with Rudbeckia pollen. Austin, Texas, USA.
Blister Beetle (Meloidae). California, USA.
Cysteodemus armatus
The inflated beetle Cysteodemus is one of the most recognizeable insects of the southwestern deserts. Larvae are parasites of soil-nesting bees. Anza Borrego, California, USA.
Epicauta pardalis
Blister Beetle (Meloidae). Arizona, USA. When bothered, blister beetles exude a potent toxin (Cantharadin) from their leg joints. The chemical causes painful blisters where it touches human skin. filename: Epicauta7
Spotted Blister Beetle (Meloidae). Arizona, USA.
Pleuropasta mirabilis
Although the mimicry is not easily apparent when resting, the blister beetle Pleuropasta mirabilis when running forwards resembles a painfully-stinging red harvester ant dragging a seed backwards. Anza Borrego, California, USA.
Oxacis
A mating pair of false blister beetles at a UV blacklight trap in the Nevada desert.
Rhipiphorus
A female Rhipiphorus sp. wedge-shaped beetle lays an egg in an aster. These odd insects are parasites of bee larvae. On hatching, the young beetle grub will attempt to hitch a ride back to a bee's nest where it will attack the bee's own offspring. Shawnee National Forest, Illinois, USA
Mordestellina and Dioxyna
A tumbling flower beetle (Mordestellina sp, Mordellidae) and a fruit fly (Dioxyna sp., Tephritidae) share space on a late spring aster. Austin, Texas, USA.
Atractocerus sp.
Among the most unusual of insects are highly-modified ship-timber beetles in the genus Atractocerus. Like rove beetles, the forewings are greatly reduced. Armenia, Cayo District, Belize.
Notoxus
Anthicid beetles of the genus Notoxus are instantly recognizeable from their pronotal horns. Nevada, USA.
Monoceros beetles, mating. Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA.
Tenebrio molitor
Beetles, like butterflies, undergo complete metamorposis. This photos depicts a larva and a pupa of the darkling beetle Tenebrio molitor (Tenebrionidae).
Tenebrio molitor, pupa.
Dendroides canadensis
Fire-colored beetle. Illinois, USA.
Dendroides
Dendroides sp. fire-colored beetle larva (Pyrochroidae) Urbana, Illinois
Hegemona lineata
Armenia, Belize
Araeoschizus
Little is known about the biology of this small beetle, which lives around the nests of desert ants. California, USA.
