Meloe
| Meloe | ||||||||||||
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Black blue oil beetle ( Meloe proscarabaeus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Meloe | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
Meloe is a genus of the oil beetle (Meloidae). Linnaeus described the genus as early as 1758. According to Webster's Unabridged Dictionary in the 1913 edition, the name goes back to the Greek and means "wound probe".
features
What is noticeable in all species is that the wing panels are significantly shorter than the abdomen and at the end they diverge strongly. Hind wings are completely absent.
Way of life
The animals produce poisonous antibodies that are contained in their blood, the hemolymph . In the event of danger, they can let the liquid escape from pores on their leg joints ( reflex bleeding ). This is very reminiscent of oil droplets and gave the beetles their name. The main active ingredient is cantharidin and primarily protects against ants and ground beetles .
The development of the approximately three millimeter long larvae proceeds via hypermetamorphosis , so the various larval stages are designed differently. The first stage is developed as a three-clawed claw ( triungulinus ) and serves as a spreading stage by clinging to a potential host animal (solitary bees ), waiting for it to sit on flowers and then being carried into the host's nest ( phoretic way of life). After the larvae have first eaten the egg and then the nectar - pollen mixture from the bees' pantry, they leave the nest. They shed their skin one more time and are then more maggot-like and hardly mobile, with receded legs and pupate.
Types (selection)
- Meloe aegyptius Brandt & Erichson, 1832
- Meloe atratus Meyer, 1793
- Blue shimmering May worm beetle ( Meloe autumnalis Olivier, 1792)
- Thick-horned Mayworm Beetle ( Meloe brevicollis Panzer, 1793)
- Meloe brunsvicensis Meyer, 1793
- Glossy black Mayworm beetle ( Meloe coriarius Brandt & Erichson, 1832)
- Meloe crispatus Fairmaire, 1884
- Meloe cyanella Brullé, 1832
- Meloe cyaneus Mulsant , 1857
- Meloe exaratus Faldermann, 1832
- Meloe gallicus Baudi, 1878
- Yellow-banded Mayworm Beetle ( Meloe hungarus cabinet, 1776)
- Meloe incertus Tauscher, 1812
- Meloe megacephalus Fischer von Waldheim, 1842
- Meloe pannonicus Baudi, 1878
- Black and blue oil beetle ( Meloe proscarabaeus Linnaeus, 1758)
- Finely wrinkled Mayworm beetle ( Meloe scabriusculus Brandt & Erichson, 1832)
- Colorful oil beetle ( Meloe variegatus Donovan, 1793)
- Violet oil beetle ( Meloe violaceus Marsham, 1802)
swell
literature
- Jiří Zahradník , Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe. Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
