
Margined Blister Beetle
I was taking a picture of a flower when this not-so-harmless beetle crawled onto my foot. I didn't disturb it in an attempt to get a better picture because this is a blister beetle. Blister beetles get their common name from their ability to exude hemolymph (blood), which causes blisters on contact with human skin. Hemolymph is often exuded copiously by reflexive bleeding when an adult beetle is pressed, rubbed, or disturbed. The blistering agent in their hemolymph is cantharidin.
Similar species: Beetles
By Christine Young
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Uploaded Mar 29, 2018. Captured Jul 20, 2013 14:48 in 55 Locust St, Coventry, RI 02816, USA.
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