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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » False Blister Beetles (Oedemeridae)

Family Oedemeridae - False Blister Beetles

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Habitat · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

Beetle on Jimson weed for ID - Ischnomera excavata

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 Oedemeridae (False Blister Beetles)

Other Common Names

Pollen Feeding Beetles(1)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

revised in (2)

Explanation of Names

Oedemeridae Latreille 1810

Oedemera: Greek οιδειν 'swell' + μηροσ 'thigh'(3)

Numbers

3 subfamilies, with ~90 spp. in 18 genera in our area, ~1500 spp. in 115 genera worldwide(4) [500/100 per(5)]; 13 spp. in Canada(6)

Overview of our fauna

Family Oedemeridae

Subfamily Calopodinae Calopus · Sparedrus

Subfamily Oedemerinae

Tribe Ditylini Ditylus

Tribe Asclerini Copidita · Eumecomera · Heliocis · Hypasclera · Ischnomera · Oxacis · Oxycopis · Paroxacis · Rhinoplatia · Sisenes · Vasaces · Xanthochroina

Tribe Nacerdini Nacerdes · Xanthochroa

Subfamily Polypriinae Polypria

Size

5‒20 mm

Identification

Key to Florida spp. in (1)

Habitat

Most abundant along the coast and in moist wooded habitats. Adults of some species are nectar and pollen feeders and often found on flowers. They are also found resting on foliage or in moist, rotten logs. Larvae develop in moist, decaying logs, stumps, and roots of hardwoods and conifers, including wharf pilings and driftwood.(7)

Remarks

some produce toxic defensive chemicals

See Also

Meloidae

Internet References

Oedemeridae of Texas (Quinn 2016)

Works Cited

1.	Arnett R.H., Jr. (2000‒2005) False blister beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Oedemeridae)

2.	A revision of the Nearctic Oedemeridae (Coleoptera) Arnett R.H., Jr. 1951. American Midland Naturalist 45: 257‒391.

3.	The Century Dictionary: an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language

4.	American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.

5.	Order Coleoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification... Ślipiński S.A., Leschen R.A.B., Lawrence J.F. 2011. Zootaxa 3148: 203–208.

6.	The Oedemeridae (Coleoptera) of Atlantic Canada C.G. Majka & D. Langor. 2011. Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society 7: 1-6.

7.	Beetles of Eastern North America Arthur V. Evans. 2014. Princeton University Press.

Contributed by Cotinis on 4 July, 2004 - 9:22pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Phillip Harpootlian, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 24 April, 2025 - 1:21am

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