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Genus Lytta
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Tenebrionoidea (Fungus, Bark, Darkling and Blister Beetles)
Family Meloidae (Blister Beetles)
Subfamily Meloinae
Genus Lytta
Pronunciation lit'-uh (lĭt'-ə) Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Lytta Fabricius, 1775. Some species formerly listed under Pomphopaea. Explanation of Names From Greek lytta (λυττα, variant lyssa, λυσσα) meaning madness, rage. Also used more specifically, referring to a "worm" (actually, the fleshy/cartilaginous part under the tongue) thought in former times to be a parasite that caused madness ( rabies) in dogs (1) (2). Clearly this refers to the toxic properties of these beetles. Numbers Nearctica (3) lists 54 species.
White lists 68 species (4). Identification Similar to Epicauta, but lack patch of hair on underside of front femur (4). Also, Lytta has nearly bead-like ( submoniliform) antennae (5):
while Epicauta has more thread-like antennae:
Range Most species in western United States. Food Adults eat foliage, flowers, pollen, and fruit. In the East they often show a preference for fruit trees and other members of the family Rosaceae. Life Cycle Larvae live in bee nests (4). Print References Borror, entry for lytta (1)
Brimley, Insects of North Carolina, lists, for that state, under genus Pomphopaea: aenea (widespread, March-June), polita (coastal plain, April), unguicularis (mountains, May-June) (6)
Dillon and Dillon, p. 298, plate XXX, describes and illustrates, under, Pomphopaea, aenea and sayi (5)
Downie and Arnett, page 1179, list three species in the northeast: L. aenea, L. sayi, and L. unguicularis (7)
The Century Dictionary, entry for lytta (2)
White, pp. 273-274, fig. 118 (cf. fig. 117 showing leg of Epicauta, plate 6-- L. nuttalli (4)Internet References North Carolina State University Entomology Collection lists for that state, with number pinned: aenea (50), polita (29), unguicularis (6)
Univ. Florida lists only L. polita, as does this checklist for Florida.
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