Possibly queen carpenter ant? - Meloe niger - BugGuide.Net

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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) » Black Meloe (Meloe niger)

Photo#541652

Copyright © 2011 Suzanne Endres

Possibly queen carpenter ant? - Meloe niger -

Oldtown, Idaho, USA
April 22, 2007
Size: about two inches

I find one or two of these every spring. They look like carpenter ants that are giganticly fat. I have thought they are probably pregnant carpenter ants. Or are they something else?

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Contributed by Suzanne Endres on 7 July, 2011 - 6:48pm
Last updated 23 July, 2011 - 10:54am

Meloe niger Kirby --det. J.D. Pinto

his comment: "I am not aware of ANY records of Meloe successfully parasitizing Bombus as one of the comments indicates."

Moved from Oil Beetles.

… v belov, 23 July, 2011 - 10:54am

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and the

young beetles live in bumblebee nests i suppose eating the little pots of honey and baby bees.

… Edna Woodward, 7 July, 2011 - 7:26pm

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Thank you everyone who commented!

I never would have guessed these were beetles. They have soft bodies and are segmented, so I thought it was some kind of ant. I'm glad you told me that they eat baby bumblebees (one of my favorite bugs) so I will definitely kill every blister beetle I see!

… Suzanne Endres, 7 July, 2011 - 9:30pm

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Moved for expert attention

Moved from ID Request.

The antennae mark this one as a male. With luck, the experts will be able to take the ID further.

… Ken Wolgemuth, 7 July, 2011 - 7:06pm

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bugguide says:

Pressing, rubbing, or squashing adult blister beetles may cause them to exude their hemolymph (“blood”), which contains cantharidin. This compound causes blistering of the skin, thus the name blister beetle. Accidental or intentional ingestion of these insects can be fatal. There are documented incidents of horses dying after eating hay in which blister beetles were inadvertently baled with the forage. Watch that curious children do not attempt to put these beetles in their mouths. The external use of cantharidin, commercially known as "Spanish fly," the supposed aphrodisiac, is likewise discouraged

… bugwonderer, 7 July, 2011 - 7:02pm

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Oil/Blister Beetle

http://bugguide.net/node/view/303

… bugwonderer, 7 July, 2011 - 6:54pm

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