Aren't defence mechanisms wonderful?

This guy is Meloe violaceus, the Violet oil beetle. Althouhj I always knew in the back of my mind that these were called blister beetles, I had never really thought about it. Today we really seemed to spook this one (O.K. I admit that it was to do with picking him up to move him off a bicycle path). He went into full defence mode and these shots show the production of the highly toxic and irritating "oil" - actually hemolymph. To add to the didactic quality of this post, the active irritant is cantharidin, which in lower quantities is an aphrodisiac ("Spanish fly").

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …/R3B00435-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …/R3B00433-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A

Interesting, the liquid appears to emanate from the tibia?

racketman wrote in post #18838013
Interesting, the liquid appears to emanate from the tibia?

Yes .. it comes out of the joints

Interesting info and good shots

Brian V.

ECC233 wrote in post #18837946
This guy is Meloe violaceus, the Violet oil beetle. Althouhj I always knew in the back of my mind that these were called blister beetles, I had never really thought about it. Today we really seemed to spook this one (O.K. I admit that it was to do with picking him up to move him off a bicycle path). He went into full defence mode and these shots show the production of the highly toxic and irritating "oil" - actually hemolymph. To add to the didactic quality of this post, the active irritant is cantharidin, which in lower quantities is an aphrodisiac ("Spanish fly").

Nice photos - some people have been killed using this an aphoridisiac
https://en.wikipedia.o​rg …nish_fly#Notewo​rthy_cases

"Arthur Kendrick Ford was convicted and given a multiyear prison sentence in 1954 for the unintended deaths of two women surreptitiously given candies laced with cantharidin, which were intended to act as an aphrodisiac"

Great find and lovely captures Edwin.