Violet Oil Beetle Uncovering the Hidden Wonders of a Rare and Fascinating Species

Oil beetles are another one of those species that not everyone is comfortable with due to their interesting life cycle which we’ll come to.

They belong to the genus Meloe which is a large group with some 35 species of Oil beetle in Europe and 15 in France although I’m not sure how rare some of them may be and they are also somewhat understudied according to OPIE. Certainly the commonest are the Black Oil Beetle Meloe proscarabaeus and the one I find at our place the Violet Oil Beetles, Meloe violaceus, and we sure have a lot of them, so many that it’s hard not to tread on them when walking among the trees where the Lesser celandines are flowering at the moment.

Violet

They are a flightless beetle without functional wings, and shortened elytra, (modified, hardened front wings), and they have a very interesting life cycle as mentioned. Soon after emergence in March / April the adult beetles mate after first putting on some weight. With both the Violet and Black Oil Beetle the males have kinked antennae which they use to hang on to the females antennae with during courtship. Once coupled they remain attached with the male being dragged around for an hour or more. The female then lays her eggs in a small hollow she digs in the soil and when these hatch the larvae, (called triungulins as they have 3 hooks on each foot), climb up the vegetation and wait on a flower head for a passing bee to settle to which they attach themselves. Very few survive but those that do and manage to hitch a ride are taken back to the solitary bees’ nest where they consume the bees’ eggs and the nutrition that has been put there. They then pupate and emerge the following year.

Insects Of Spain Archives

“”Kleptoparasitism or cleptoparasitism (literally, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding in which one animal takes prey or other food from another that has caught, collected, or otherwise prepared the food, including stored food (as in the case of cuckoo bees, which lay their eggs on the pollen masses made by other bees). The term is also used to describe the stealing of nest material or other inanimate objects from one animal by another.” SOURCE

Despite this behaviour which some dislike they are a good indicator of the level of solitary bee activity where they are located for without them they can’t exist.

As can be seen in the photo Oil beetles often attract small midges which feed on the oil produced by the beetle but do it no harm.

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Rugged Oil Beetle Meloe rugosus, Mediterranean Oil Beetle Meloe mediterraneus and the Short-necked Oil beetle Meloe brevicollis are some other well known but scarcer French Oil Beetles.Meloe violaceus, the violet oil beetle, is a species of oil beetle belonging to the family Meloidae subfamily Meloinae. These beetles are present in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, in the Near East, and in North Africa. This species is characterized by hypermetamorphosis, a kind of complete insect metamorphosis in which, in addition to the normal stages of larva, nymph and imago, they have several others, with great differences in appearance and way of life. The body of Meloe violaceus is 10–30 millimetres (0.4–1.2 in) long, females are somewhat larger than the males. These beetle are black-blue or violet-blue, head and pronotum are very finely dotted and the elytra are quite shorter than the abdomen, as in other Meloinae species. The adults live on a sunny, dry area with flowering plants, feeding on pollen. In May–June the female digs into the soil 20–30 millimetres (0.8–1.2 in) deep cylindrical holes, where they lay a very large quantity of eggs (about 2, 000–10, 000). After about a month larvae emerge from eggs and climb up on grass or on flowers, waiting to cling to the thorax of approaching potential host insects seeking pollen or nectar. The larvae have an exclusively parasitic life, primarily in the nests of solitary bees, or sometimes of locusts. If the larvae have inadvertently selected a honey bee, they die in the hive and may cause serious damage. When the host female bee lays eggs in its cells, the first-stage larva of the violet oil beetle eats the eggs of the bee, increases in volume and becomes the second-stage larva, which continues its development eating honey and pollen. The larva, after other two stages, forms the nymph and finally the imago.

The Violet Oil Beetle is often found near the corolla, where the fluffy hairs are easily covered with pollen, which can help pollinate the plant.

Violet

Violet Oil Beetle displays a unique triungulin life cycle, where larvae feed on eggs and larvae within solitary bee nests, instead of the host plant. Adult beetles primarily consume plant matter. Although not directly hazardous to humans, their defensive tactic involves releasing cantharidin, a poison which causes skin irritation. Easily identified by its metallic body and absence of wings, the violet Oil Beetle provides an intriguing insight into the complexity of the natural world.

French Wildlife And Beekeeping: Violet Oil Beetle In France

Violet Oil Beetle neither bites nor stings, and the cantharidin contained in it is highly toxic. Direct skin contact with violet Oil Beetle does not poison people.

It should be noted that when the violet Oil Beetle is frightened, it will secrete a small amount of cantharidin from the leg. The skin after contact will be red, swollen, painful, and burning, and blisters will appear within 48h. After waking up, many people will be confused by the blisters that somehow grew out of. Fortunately, the blisters caused by the violet Oil Beetle are temporary. Most people's symptoms will disappear within a week, and most of the recovered skin will not leave unsightly scars.

French

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Violet Oil Beetle neither bites nor stings, and the cantharidin contained in it is highly toxic. Direct skin contact with violet Oil Beetle does not poison people.

French

Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.

The Book Of Magic

We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.