''Mylabris phalerata'' is a species of blister beetle, belonging to the

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 ...

family. Known as the Chinese blister beetle or the banded blister beetle, it is used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

Morphology

The adults of this species range from 25 mm to 34 mm long and 4 mm wide, with the average length of females being 33 mm and the average length of males being 26 mm. The adult beetles are black with large orange spots behind their head, followed by 2 wider orange bands. The eggs of this species are smooth, orange, and banana shaped.

Life cycle

This species lays eggs in the soil in August, and roughly 40 days later, in mid-September, the eggs hatch. The larvae go through five stages before they mature into an adult, the last being their overwintering stage, in which they spend six months in the soil before pupating in May and emerging in June as adults. Their developmental temperature range is 18 °C to 34 °C. The amount of time spend during their overwinter stage is determined by soil temperature.

Geographic distribution

''Mylabris phalerata'' is widely distributed in India and southern China; however, it is now scarce.

Impact

When population levels are high, ''M. phalerata'' can be important pests of the flowers of the cowpea plant; they will destroy flowers and chew holes in the young pods.

Medical and research use

''Mylabris phalerata'' was traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat tumors, carbuncle, scrofula, poor blood circulation, pleurisy, dropsy, pericarditis, and missed menstrual periods. Some side effects of the crude medicine obtained from ''M. phalerata'' can cause abdominal pain and hemorrhagic shock. Today, ''M. phalerata'' is used for its chemical components, primarily

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 aphrodisia ...

. A fatality from

poisoning has been reported in which dried beetles had been used as an abortifacient.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6947613 Meloidae Beetles of Asia Insects of China Beetles described in 1781 Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas