''Epicauta vittata'' is a species of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
in the family
Meloidae
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 ...
, the blister beetles. It is native to eastern North America, including eastern
Canada and the eastern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.
[Selander, R. B. and T. R. Fasulo]
Blister beetles.
EENY-166. University of Florida IFAS. Published 2000, revised 2010. It is known commonly as the striped blister beetle and the old-fashioned potato beetle. It is known as an agricultural
pest.
Description
The adult beetle is 9 to 17 millimeters long. It is long and slender, with a hairy, punctate body. The
thorax
The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the crea ...
is narrower than the head and abdomen. It is black and yellow, its color pattern varying across its geographical range. It has two black spots on the head, two black stripes on the thorax, and two or three black stripes on each
elytron
An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...
. Beetles from northern populations have two elytral stripes, and southern beetles have three.
[Capinera, J. L]
Striped Blister Beetle, ''Epicauta vittata'' (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Meloidae).
EENY-280. Entomology and Nematology. Florida Cooperative Extension Service. University of Florida IFAS. 2003.
The
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
Th ...
, which is a triungulin, changes in appearance as it develops. The new larva is whitish and has long legs that allow it to be mobile. During this more mobile stage, it parasitizes a grasshopper egg case. From there, it becomes a sedentary grub. When it becomes a sedentary grub it darkens to a reddish-brown color with darker bands, and the legs shrink.
[
]
Life cycle
Many blister beetles have a complex developmental cycle in which the larva and pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
experience drastic changes in morphology between growth phases.[
There are one or two generations per year, with peak abundance of adults in the summer, or slightly earlier in more hospitable climate types. The adult female produces eggs about every 10 days. It deposits them in masses of 100 to 200 in a tubular chamber a few centimeters deep in the soil, then covers them. The eggs are whitish and about 2 millimeters long. They hatch within 16 days. The functional legs of the new larva allow it to seek its food, the egg of a ]grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshoppe ...
. As it feeds and develops at its food source, its legs become reduced.[ The striped blister beetle is associated with grasshopper species that produce large egg-pods, such as the two-striped grasshopper (''Melanoplus bivittatus'') and differential grasshopper (''Melanoplus differentialis'').
]
Impacts
The adult beetle is most active during the morning and late afternoon hours, when it feeds on plants. During the heat of mid-day it seeks shelter, and in hot, dry climates it may only be active in the evening. Its preferred host plants are anything solanaceous, and other plants including amaranth
''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely pack ...
s (genus ''Amaranthus''). It also feeds on a variety of crop plants, including bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
s, beet
The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...
, carrot
The carrot (''Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nati ...
, cabbage
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nbs ...
s, corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
, eggplant
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mo ...
, pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
, potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United S ...
, radish
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw a ...
, spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either fr ...
, squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
, sweet potato
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoot ...
, tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
, turnip
The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...
, clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus h ...
s, soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
, and alfalfa
Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as we ...
.[
It is considered to be one of the most problematic of the pest blister beetles in its range. It feeds voraciously, prefers crop plants, damages fruits, and forms swarms that travel ''en masse''. It may be a ]vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
of the bean pod mottle virus
''Bean pod mottle virus'', or BPMV, is a species of plant pathogenic virus in the family ''Secoviridae''. It is known to infect soybean crops.
Description
BPMV is the viral pathogen that causes the disease Bean Pod Mottle in soybeans and other ...
, a plant pathogen
Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomy ...
.[
Worse than its damage to plants is its toxicity.][Bailey, W. C., et al]
G4569 Blister Beetle Management in Alfalfa.
University of Missouri Extension. 1993. Like other blister beetles, it contains cantharidin
Cantharidin is an odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class, which is secreted by many species of blister beetles. It is a burn agent or a poison in large doses, but preparations containing it were historically used as aphrodisiac ...
, a toxic terpenoid
The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeably with "terpenes", ...
. This compound is a vesicant
A blister agent (or vesicant), is a chemical compound that causes severe skin, eye and mucosal pain and irritation. They are named for their ability to cause severe chemical burns, resulting in painful water blisters on the bodies of those affec ...
that causes the blister
A blister is a small pocket of body fluid (lymph, serum, plasma, blood, or pus) within the upper layers of the skin, usually caused by forceful rubbing (friction), burning, freezing, chemical exposure or infection. Most blisters are filled w ...
ing of skin and mucous membranes. It is injurious to livestock
Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals raised in an agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is som ...
that consume beetles living in hay
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
, and has been known to cause fatalities, particularly of horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a Domestication, domesticated, odd-toed ungulate, one-toed, ungulate, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two Extant taxon, extant subspecies of wild horse, ''Equus fer ...
s.[ Cantharidin toxicity in an animal may be called cantharidiasis. The cantharidin content of one striped blister beetle has been reported to be about 0.31 to 1.45 milligrams in one small sample,][Eisner, T., et al. (1990)]
Systemic retention of ingested cantharidin by frogs.
''Chemoecology'' 1(2), 57–62. and about 4[DiFonzo, C]
Cantharidin content and lethal dose of common Michigan blister beetles.
Field Crops Entomology, Michigan State University. 2009. or 5 milligrams in general.[ The toxic dose of cantharidin in horses is about one milligram per kilogram body weight, and the ingestion of 30 to 50 beetles can be fatal.][ Even two to five beetles can cause ]horse colic
Colic in horses is defined as abdominal pain, but it is a clinical symptom rather than a diagnosis. The term colic can encompass all forms of gastrointestinal conditions which cause pain as well as other causes of abdominal pain not involving the g ...
, and hay containing the remnants or fluids of crushed beetles can cause symptoms when eaten.[ Signs of toxicity include blisters and ]ulcers
An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing o ...
of the mouth, pawing, stretching, diarrhea
Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...
containing bits of intestinal mucosa, hypocalcaemia
Hypocalcemia is a medical condition characterized by low calcium levels in the blood serum. The normal range of blood calcium is typically between 2.1–2.6 mmol/L (8.8–10.7 mg/dL, 4.3–5.2 mEq/L) while levels less than 2.1 mmol ...
, and hypomagnesemia
Magnesium deficiency is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is a low level of magnesium in the body. It can result in multiple symptoms. Symptoms include tremor, poor coordination, muscle spasms, loss of appetite, personality changes, and ...
.[ ]Cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
and sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...
appear to be less susceptible but can suffer some symptoms from beetle ingestion.[
]
Ecology
Predators of the striped blister beetle include robber flies and several birds, such as the western meadowlark
The western meadowlark (''Sturnella neglecta'') is a medium-sized icterid bird, about in length. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central North America. It feeds mostly on bugs, but will also feed on seeds and berrie ...
, eastern bluebird
The eastern bluebird (''Sialia sialis'') is a small North American migratory thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards.
The bright-blue breeding plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, makes this species a ...
, and scissor-tailed flycatcher
The scissor-tailed flycatcher (''Tyrannus forficatus''), also known as the Texas bird-of-paradise and swallow-tailed flycatcher, is a long-tailed bird of the genus ''Tyrannus'', whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. The kingbi ...
. Its eggs are attacked by another blister beetle, '' Epicauta atrata''.[
]Frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
s are apparently not affected by Meloidae beetle toxin, and "consume meloids with impunity".[ After eating blister beetles, frogs retain the toxin in their tissues and secrete it in their ]mucus
Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It is ...
for a short time, and predators that consume the frogs can be poisoned. This includes humans who consume foods such as frog legs
Frog legs ( French: ''Cuisses de grenouille'') are one of the better-known delicacies of French cuisine, where it has been considered as a national delicacy.
The legs of edible frogs are also consumed in other parts of the world, including Vi ...
. s fed striped blister beetles in studies accumulated cantharidin in their thigh muscles, among other tissues. It is estimated that as little as 200 grams of frog legs from beetle-fed frogs could contain a potentially fatal dose of toxin.[
]
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q937565
Agricultural pest insects
Meloidae
Beetles of North America
Beetles described in 1775
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius