Blister Beetle Epicauta species - Epicauta maculata

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Blister Beetles (Meloidae) » Meloinae » Epicautini » Epicauta » subgenus Epicauta (Epicauta subgenus Epicauta) » Maculata Group (Epicauta Maculata Group) » Spotted Blister Beetle (Epicauta maculata)

Photo#25374

Copyright © 2005 Dawn

Blister Beetle Epicauta species - Epicauta maculata

Bisbee, Arizona, USA
July 5, 2005

This image was submitted to www.whatsthatbug.com on 6 July 2005 by Dawn.
Blister Beetle
(07/06/2005) Pepper eater.....
Do you know what kind of insect this guy is? He's quite happily chowing down on my bell pepper plant, and he seems to be alone at present. Just saw him for the first time today. I have NO idea what he could be, so no clear idea of what direction to research in. This photo is high resolution so you can size it as you need to for easy viewing. :-)
Dawn
Bisbee, AZ

Hi Dawn,
We couldn't identify your exact species of Blister Beetle, so we wrote to Eric Eaton. Here is his answer: "Spectacular! I'd love to see that one IN bugguide.... It is a species of Epicauta. Nobody could tell you more than that because there is a whole COMPLEX of species that all look like this one! Pretty sure they are parasites of grasshopper egg pods in the larval stage. Eric"

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Contributed by Daniel Marlos on 23 July, 2005 - 8:42pm
Last updated 5 April, 2009 - 2:18pm

Epicauta maculata (Say)

John Pinto det.
Moved from Epicauta.

… v belov, 5 April, 2009 - 2:18pm

Another one

Another polka-dotted one, also from Arizona.

… Beatriz Moisset, 24 February, 2009 - 8:31am

same pattern, same state . . .

. . . as this type specimen in MCZ.

… Boris Büche, 2 October, 2007 - 3:00am

Boris, do you think we should call it nogales

or should we make a species group page since Eric says there are many that look like this.

… john and jane balaban, 17 July, 2008 - 9:19pm

if Eric says this . . .

I´d say: no action is better.

… Boris Büche, 21 July, 2008 - 7:52am

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