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- ›Blister Beetles
- ›Meloinae
- ›Meloini
Oil Beetles
Meloe
Meloe is a genus of blister beetles commonly referred to as oil beetles. The name derives from their defensive strategy: when threatened they release oily droplets of hemolymph from their joints (legs, neck, and antennae). This fluid is bright orange and contains cantharidin, a poisonous chemical compound. Wiping the chemical on skin can cause blistering and painful swelling of the skin. This defensive strategy is not exclusive to this genus; all meloids possess and exude cantharidin upon threat.
13 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Meloe
subgenusMeloe
Eurymeloe
subgenusEurymeloe
Treiodous
subgenusTreiodous
Meloegonius
subgenusMeloegonius
Micromeloe
subgenusMicromeloe
Lampromeloe
subgenusLampromeloe
Meloe hungarus
speciesMeloe hungarus
Meloe erythrocnemus
speciesMeloe erythrocnemus
Afromeloe
subgenusAfromeloe
Mesomeloe
subgenusMesomeloe
Desertimeloe
subgenusDesertimeloe
Meloe olivieri
speciesMeloe olivieri
Meloe exiguus
speciesMeloe exiguus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Meloe in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 68006.