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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Blister Beetles (Meloidae) » Meloinae » Oil Beetles (Meloe) » subgenus Meloe (Meloe subgenus Meloe) » Buttercup Oil Beetle (Meloe americanus)
Photo#733587
Meloe campanicollis - Meloe americanus - female
Copyright © 2012 Crush Rush

Meloe campanicollis - Meloe americanus - Female
Lexington, South Carolina, USA
December 27, 2012
Size: 1 inch
This is the first Oil Beetle I have seen in South Carolina!
I was taking out the trash, and I saw this large slow moving insect that I had never seen before on the bricks next to the trashcan.
I ran inside, got my camera and my macro lens and took a picture to id it. Low and behold this is what it was.
I noticed the closer I got the "wetter" it looked. I'm glad I didn't touch it, as I learned that it released caustic chemicals when it feels threatened.
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Contributed by Crush Rush on 27 December, 2012 - 10:12pm
Last updated 7 February, 2013 - 11:03am

Meloe americanus --det. J.D. Pinto
Moved from Oil Beetles.
… v belov, 7 February, 2013 - 11:03am login or register to post comments

nice shot --thanks for sharing [cropped it for the guide]
must run it past Dr Pinto to check the ID; how was it obtained? please elaborate.
the beetle on this photo doesn't strike me as campanicollis, but i'm not an expert.

Moved from Beetles.
… v belov, 28 December, 2012 - 1:22am login or register to post comments

 
So whats the verdict?
So whats the verdict?
… Crush Rush, 5 January, 2013 - 11:18am login or register to post comments

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