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Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn
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(Borrego Palm Canyon)
Range: Mojave and Colorado Deserts.
Adult Activity: Spring
Similar Species:
There are 69 species of Lytta widely distributed in the Nearctic, but primarily western U.S. and Mexico.
Texas Taxa:
Lytta aenea Say
Lytta biguttata LeConte
Lytta cribrata LeConte
Lytta fulvipennis LeConte
Lytta lecontei Heyden
Lytta mutilata (Horn)
Lytta reticulata Say
Comment:
In Europe, cantharidin (a chemical that causes irritation and blistering to sensitive tissues) was collected from the old world blister beetle called the Spanish Fly (Lytta vesicatoria) and taken orally for its purported qualities as an aphrodisiac.
Spanish Fly - Wikipedia
Weblinks:
Blister Beetles - TAMU
Blister Beetles - Featured Creatures - University of Florida
Etymology:
lytt, =a (G). Madness, rage
magist, =er, r (L). A teacher, master
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M.C. Thomas, P.E. Skelley & J.H. Frank. (editors). 2002. American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press. 861 pp.
Borror, D.J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms. National Press Books, Palo Alto. 134 pp.
Brown, W.D. 1990. Size-assortative mating in the blister beetle Lytta magister (Coleoptera: Meloidae) is due to male and female preference for larger mates. Animal Behaviour 40: 901-909
Selander, R.B. 1960. Bionomics, Systematics, and Phylogeny of Lytta, a Genus of Blister Beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae). Illinois Biological Monographs: Number 28. 295 pp.
White. R.E. 1983. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 368 pp.
01 Oct 2006 © Mike Quinn / mike.quinn@tpwd.state.tx.us / Texas Entomology / Texas Beetle Information