File:Blister Beetle (26390828032).jpg
Hycleus sp., Family: Meloidae
Date
Source
Blister beetle
Author
arian.suresh from Chennai, India
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.
Cantharidin is a poisonous chemical that causes blistering of the skin. It is used medically to remove warts and is collected for this purpose from species of the genera Mylabris.Camera location | ![]() | View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap | ![]() |
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by arian.suresh at https://flickr.com/photos/137304541@N04/26390828032. It was reviewed on 24 January 2017 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |