Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Blister Beetles (Meloidae) » Meloinae » Lytta » Subgenus Pomphopoea (Lytta Subgenus Pomphopoea) » Lytta sayi

Species Lytta sayi

Blister Beetle - Lytta sayi Red and blue beetle - Lytta sayi Lytta 1 - Lytta sayi Lytta sayi Meloidae, lateral - Lytta sayi Meloidae, dorsal - Lytta sayi Blister beetle? - Lytta sayi Unknown Beetle - Lytta sayi
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Tenebrionoidea
Family Meloidae (Blister Beetles)
Subfamily Meloinae
Genus Lytta
No Taxon (Subgenus Pomphopoea)
Species sayi (Lytta sayi)
Explanation of Names
Lytta sayi LeConte, 1853
sayi = named after Thomas Say, a prominent American entomologist and naturalist of the early 19th century
Size
13-22 mm(1)
Identification
Range
ne. US (south to so.PA-c.IL-ne.WY) & adjacent Canada (NB-ON)(1)(2)(3)
Season
18.v—27.vii (vast majority of the records, May-Jun)(1)
Food
beetles feed largely on various flowers; larvae have been reared from cells of Agapostemon virescens(1)(4)
See Also
- Range: e. US
Lytta aenea Say
Det. John D. Pinto, 2015
Works Cited
1.Bionomics, systematics and phylogeny of Lytta, a genus of blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae).
Selander, R.B. 1960. Illinois Biological Monographs, No. 28, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL.
2.New Coleoptera records from New Brunswick, Canada: Stenotrachelidae, Oedemeridae, Meloidae, Myceteridae, Boridae, Pythidae...
Webster R.P., Sweeney J.D., Demerchant I. 2012. Zookeys 179: 279-307.
3.An Illustrated Inventory of the Beetles (Coleoptera) of Lick Creek Park, College Station, Texas
Edward G. Riley. 2013. Texas A&M University, Dept. Entomology, College Station.
4.Blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) of Wisconsin: distribution and ecology
Marschalek D.A. 2013. University of Wisconsin - Madison. PhD dissertation. viii+349 pp.
Contributed by Cotinis on 13 March, 2006 - 7:16pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, Ted Kropiewnicki, v belov, PaleoJon
Last updated 17 April, 2021 - 2:13am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo