Blister beetle digs a mink in the ground

Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some are aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be predators. Blister beetles are hypermetamorphic, going through several larval stages, the first of which is typically a mobile triungulin. The larvae are insectivorous, mainly attacking bees, though a few feed on grasshopper eggs. While sometimes considered parasitoids, in general, the meloid larva apparently consumes the immature host along with its provisions, and can often survive on the provisions alone; thus it is not an obligatory parasitoid, but rather a facultative parasitoid, or simply a kleptoparasite. The adults sometimes feed on flowers and leaves of plants of such diverse families as the Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae. Cantharidin, a poisonous chemical that causes blistering of the skin, is secreted as a defensive agent. It is used medically to remove warts and is collected for this purpose from species of the genera Mylabris and Lytta, especially Lytta vesicatoria, better known as “Spanish fly“. Cantharidin is the principal irritant in “Spanish fly“, a folk medicine prepared from dried beetles in the family Meloidae. The largest genus, Epicauta, contains many species toxic to horses. A few beetles consumed in a single feeding of alfalfa hay may be lethal. In semiarid areas of the western United States, modern harvesting techniques may contribute to cantharidin content in harvested forage. The practice of hay conditioning, crushing the stalks to promote drying, also crushes any beetles present and causes the release of cantharidin into the fodder. Blister beetles are attracted to alfalfa and weeds during bloom. Reducing weeds and timing harvests before and after bloom are sound management practices. Using equipment without hay conditioners may reduce beetle mortality and allow them to escape before baling. The family is thought to have begun diversifying during the Early Cretaceous. The oldest fossil of the group is a larvae (triangulin) found phoretic on a schizopterid bug from the mid Cretaceous Burmese amber, dated to around 99 million years ago. 水泡甲虫是甲虫科的甲虫，因其防御性分泌起泡剂斑蝥素而得名。全世界已知约 7,500 种。许多是显眼的，有些是有色的，表明它们对潜在的捕食者具有毒性。 水疱甲虫是超变质的，经历了几个幼虫阶段，其中第一个阶段通常是移动的三叶虫。幼虫是食虫性的，主要攻击蜜蜂，但也有少数以蚱蜢卵为食。虽然有时被认为是寄生蜂，但一般来说，meloid 幼虫显然会吃掉未成熟的宿主及其食物，并且通常可以仅靠食物生存；因此，它不是专性寄生蜂，而是兼性寄生蜂，或简单地说是一种盗虫。成虫有时以苋科、菊科、豆科和茄科等不同科植物的花和叶为食。 斑蝥素是一种会导致皮肤起泡的有毒化学物质，可作为防御剂分泌。它在医学上用于去除疣，并为此目的从斑蝥属和 Lytta 属的物种中收集，尤其是 Lytta vesicatoria，更为人所知的是“西班牙苍蝇”。 斑蝥素是“西班牙苍蝇”中的主要刺激物，这是一种由蜜蜂科 (Meloidae) 的干甲虫制成的民间药物。 最大的属 Epicauta 包含许多对马有毒的物种。在一次喂食苜蓿干草中消耗的几只甲虫可能是致命的。在美国西部的半干旱地区，现代收割技术可能有助于提高收割草料中斑蝥素的含量。干草调理的做法，压碎茎以促进干燥，也压碎存在的任何甲虫并导致斑蝥素释放到饲料中。水泡甲虫在开花期间被苜蓿和杂草吸引。在开花前后减少杂草和定时收获是良好的管理做法。使用没有干草调节剂的设备可以降低甲虫死亡率并让它们在打包之前逃脱。 该家族被认为在白垩纪早期就开始多样化。该组中最古老的化石是在白垩纪中期缅甸琥珀中的一种裂翅目昆虫身上发现的一种幼虫（三角蛋白），可追溯到大约 9900 万年前。 ツチハンミョウはツチハンミョウ科の甲虫であり、びらん剤であるカンタリジンの防御的な分泌のために呼ばれます。世界中で約7,500種が知られています。多くは目立ち、いくつかは警告色で、捕食者になる可能性のある人への毒性を&am