Texas Beetle Resources

Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn


False Blister Beetles of Texas - Family Oedemeridae

Also known as Pollen-feeding Beetles, they frequent flowers and often come to lights.

30 species of oedemerids have been recorded from Texas (E.G. Riley, pers. comm. 2012)
The following thumbnails represent 86% of the Texas total.

Texas speciemens photographed from the EGRC, TAMUIC or the UTIC Collection.


Subfamily Polypriinae

    Polypria cruxrufa Chevrolat - Polypria cruxrufa Polypria cruxrufa Chevrolat - Polypria cruxrufa Polypria cruxrufa Chevrolat - Polypria cruxrufa Polypria cruxrufa Chevrolat - Polypria cruxrufa
        Polypria cruxrufa Chevrolat - Map: 3, 4, 5

Subfamily Calopodinae

    Idaho Unknown - Calopus angustus False Blister Beetle - Calopus angustus False Blister Beetle - Calopus angustus False Blister Beetle - Calopus angustus 
        Calopus angustus LeConte - Lit. record, no further data

    Sparedrus aspersus (LeConte) - Sparedrus aspersus Sparedrus aspersus (LeConte) - Sparedrus aspersus
        Sparedrus aspersus (LeConte) - Map: 3, 4, 5, 6
       
        Sparedrus depressus (Champion) - Map: 6


Subfamily Oedemerinae

    Tribe Nacerdini

   Coleoptera - Nacerdes melanura
        Nacerdes melanura (Linnaeus) - Wharf Borer, native to the Old World - Map: 4

    BG2348 E7612 - Xanthochroa lateralis BG2348 E7612 - Xanthochroa lateralis BG2348 E7612 - Xanthochroa lateralis
        Xanthochroa erythrocephala (Germar) - Map: 1

    Tribe Asclerini

    Asclera puncticollis (Say) - Asclera puncticollis Asclera puncticollis Asclera puncticollis - female
        Asclera puncticollis (Say) - Map: 4

    Asclera ruficollis False blister beetle - Asclera ruficollis Asclera ruficollis Red-necked False Blister Beetle - Asclera ruficollis 
        Asclera ruficollis (Say) - Map: 1, 4

    Soldier Beetle - Copidita quadrimaculata Copidita quadrimaculata? - Copidita quadrimaculata Copidita quadrimaculata? - Copidita quadrimaculata Oedemerid - Copidita quadrimaculata 
        Copidita quadrimaculata (Motschulsky) - Map: 6
   
     Eumecomera obscura (LeConte) - Eumecomera obscura
        Eumecomera obscura (LeConte) - Map: 6

    Heliocis repanda (Horn) - Heliocis repanda Heliocis repanda (Horn) - Heliocis repanda Heliocis repanda (Horn) - Heliocis repanda
        Heliocis repanda (Horn) - Map: 1, 4, 5, 6

    Hypasclera dorsalis (Melsheimer) - Hypasclera dorsalis Hypasclera dorsalis (Melsheimer) - Hypasclera dorsalis
        Hypasclera dorsalis (Melsheimer) - Map: 2, 3

        Hypasclera pleuralis (LeConte) - Map: 1, 2, 3, 4

    Oxacis angustata Champion - Oxacis angustata
        Oxacis angustata Champion - Map: 3, 6

        Oxacis barbara Arnett - Map: 2, 3, 6, 7

    Oxacis bernadettei Arnett - Oxacis bernadettei Oxacis bernadettei Arnett - Oxacis bernadettei Oxacis bernadettei Arnett - Oxacis bernadettei Oxacis bernadettei Arnett - Oxacis bernadettei
        Oxacis bernadettei Arnett - Map: 3, 7

     Oxacis caerulea Champion - Oxacis caerulea
        Oxacis caerulea Champion - Map: 3

   Oxacis cana (LeConte) - Oxacis cana Oxacis cana (LeConte) - Oxacis cana Oxacis cana (LeConte) - Oxacis cana Oxacis cana (LeConte) - Oxacis cana
        Oxacis cana (LeConte) - Map: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

    Oxacis pallida (LeConte) - Oxacis pallida
        Oxacis pallida (LeConte) - Map: 3, 4, 6, 7

    false blister beetle - Oxacis sericea
        Oxacis sericea Horn - Map: 3

        Oxacis subfusca Horn - Map: 3, 6

     Oxacis trirossi? - Oxacis trimaculata
        Oxacis trimaculata Champion - Map: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

    Oxacis trirossi Arnett - Oxacis trirossi
        Oxacis trirossi Arnett - Map: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

    Oxycopis howdeni Arnett - Oxycopis howdeni Oxycopis howdeni Arnett - Oxycopis howdeni
        Oxycopis howdeni Arnett - Map: 3, 6

    Oxycopis mimetica (Horn) - Oxycopis mimetica Oxycopis mimetica (Horn) - Oxycopis mimetica False Blister Beetle - Oxycopis mimetica Beetle - Oxycopis mimetica
        Oxycopis mimetica (Horn) - Map: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

     False blister beetle (3) - Oxycopis notoxoides Another Oedemerid? - Oxycopis notoxoides Oxycopis notoxoides (Fabricius) - Oxycopis notoxoides
        Oxycopis notoxoides (Fabricius) - Map: 1, 4

    Oxycopis thoracica (Fabricius) - Oxycopis thoracica Oxycopis thoracica (Fabricius) - Oxycopis thoracica
        Oxycopis thoracica (Fabricius) - Map: 1, 4

        Paroxacis recendita (Arnett) - Map: 3

    Vasaces elongatus Arnett - Vasaces elongatus Vasaces elongatus Arnett - Vasaces elongatus
        Vasaces elongatus Arnett - Map: 6

    Xanthochroina bicolor (LeConte) - Xanthochroina bicolor
        Xanthochroina bicolor (LeConte) - Map: 6
Vegetational Regions of Texas
Vegetational Regions of Texas

Figure l. Texas county map with seven vegetational areas following Cory and Parks, 1937 (redrawn).

Region l* - east Texas pineywoods or timber belt
Region 2 - coastal prairie and marsh
Region 3 - south Texas plains and lower Rio Grande valley
Region 4 - blackland prairie and post oak savanna
Region 5 - Edwards Plateau
Region 6 - Trans-Pecos
Region 7 - northwest Texas rolling and high plains and north central cross timbers and prairies

*As in Riley and Wolfe (2003), species here were assigned to regions based on field collections, from localities found on specimen labels, and from cited localities and point or shaded distribution maps found in the pertinent literature. Point localities that are on the border between fwo or more regions are assigned to both regions unless the bulk of the evidence indicates that the species is unlikely to occur in one or the other. Some particular problems here are localities from the literature and from specimen labels such as "San Antonio," at the convergence of three regions; "Houston," on the border of two or three regions; and "Austin," on the border of two sharply differentiated regions. (E.G. Riley, pers. comm. 2012)

Selected References

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1948. A preliminary key to the genera of Oedemeridae of the world. Coleopterists Bulletin 2(2): 13-14.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1951. A revision of the Nearctic Oedemeridae (Coleoptera). American Midland Naturalist 45: 257-391.

Arnett, R.H. J. 1956. Contribution towards a monograph of the Oedemeridae 9. Notes on the genus Oxacis LeConte. Coleopterists Bulletin 10(2): 21-25.

Arnett, R.H. J. 1956. Contribution towards a monograph of the Oedemeridae 10. Two new species of Oxacis LeConte and the rediscription [sic] of an additional species. Coleopterists Bulletin 10(4): 57-60.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1961. Contribution toward a monograph of the Oedemeridae. 14. A key to and notes on the New World genera. Coleopterists Bulletin 15(2): 49-64.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1963. The phenogram, a method of description for studies on Oxacis (Coleoptera, Oedemeridae). Coleopterists Bulletin 17(1): 6-18.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1964. Some nomenclatural changes in Oedemeridae (Coleoptera). Coleopterists Bulletin 18(2): 33-36. JSTOR

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1965. Species of Oedemeridae of the Big Bend region of Texas. Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, 118(3523): 47-55.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1968. Oedemeridae (Latreille, 1810). The false blister beetles. The Beetles of the United States. The American Entomological Institute. Ann Arbor, MI. 1112 pp.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1983. Family 119. Oedemeridae, The False Blister Beetles. Checklist of the Beetles of North and Central America and the West Indies, vol. 6. Flora and Fanuna Publications, Gainesville, FL. 6 pp.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 2008. False blister beetles, Coleoptera: Oedemeridae. Featured Creatures. University of Florida Publication Number: EENY-154. (Full Text

Cory, V.L. and H.B. Parks. 1937. Catalogue of the Flora of the state of Texas. Texas Agricultural Extension Sendce Bull. no. 550, 130 pp.

Horn, G.H. 1896[1897]. The Oedemeridae of Boreal America‎. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 6: 382-422.

Kriska, N.L. 2002. Oedemeridae Latreille 1810.
Pp. 514–519. In: R.H. Arnett, Jr., M.C. Thomas, P.E. Skelley, and J.H. Frank (editors). American Beetles, Volume 2: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Leech, H.B. 1948. Host records for Calopus angustus LeC. (Oedemeridae). Coleopterists Bulletin 2(8): 75.

Leng, C.W. 1920. Catalogue of the Coleoptera of America, North of Mexico. John D. Sherman, Jr., Mount Vernon, NY. x + 470 pp. (Full Text)

Riley, E.G. and C.S. Wolfe. 2003. An Annotated Checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of Texas (Coleoptera). Southwestern Entomologist, Supplement no. 26: 1-37. (Full PDF)

Vaurie, P. 1951. Blistering caused by oedemerid beetles. Coleopterists Bulletin 5(5/6): 78-79.

18 May 2016 © Mike Quinn / entomike@gmail.com / Texas Entomology /  Texas Beetle Resources / Photo Techniques