Species Epicauta funebris - Margined Blister Beetle

ebony blister beetle

= E. solani Werner, 1945

= E. pestifera Werner 1949 (the name used in the Guide till Apr 2009. =v=)

Epicauta funebris Horn 1873

12-17 mm(1)

Occurs in 3 color forms, cinereous, margined and black; intermediates are known, check (2); enlarged palpi and the slender, rather filiform antennae separate funebris from cinerea, pensylvanica and other similar things. (J.D. Pinto, pers. comm. to =v= 3/21/10). E. funebris and E. cinerea are broadly sympatric throughout e. NA, each with three color forms: black, cinereous, and margined. The margined form predominates from the Mississippi River east to New England & FL. The cinereous form occurs from so. KS & MO to NE-IA. The black form, in the Southwest, primarily from TX and e. LA to so. KS. E. funebris is easily separated from E. cinerea by the enlarged maxillary palp and the form of the antenna (Pinto 1991). The black form of E. funebris can also be confused with E. pensylvanica, but in E. funebris the third segment of the maxillary palp is longer than the width of the eye. In E. pensylvanica it is shorter than the width of the eye. (Barnes 2005)

e. US to AZ - Map (3)(4)(5)

Found of flowers of Ranunculus, Ceanothus, Convolvulus, eggplant, potato, tomato, Clematis, and Amaranthus.(6)

mostly July-Sept (5)

Epicauta cinerea

Epicauta pensylvanica

images that can be assigned to either cinerea or funebris