Odd insect in northern Michigan
Timothy C. Eisele
within about 10 miles of Lake Superior. It was quite large, approximately
3 cm long, and a shiny, metallic blue color. The head and thorax resembled
a large ant, and were about 1 cm long. The other 2 cm were a huge abdomen,
approximately 1 cm wide, and so large that the insect could only walk
slowly, dragging it. The antennae were long and distinctly segmented, and
about half-way up each one there was an enlarged point where the antenna
kinked. There were two opaque flaps that appeared to be wing covers, but no
wings, and the flaps only reached about a third of the length of the abdomen.
There appeared to be a yellowish fluid in the junctions between the head,
thorax, and abdomen. The mouthparts were not large.
I found the insect clinging to a tall stalk of dead grass, in a clearing
with gravelly, sandy soil. It made no attempt to get away, and seemed
to be pretty helpless, so I presume that it was either something that
tastes so foul that nothing will eat it, or else it would not normally be in
the open like that. I would call it an ant, except for the blue color
and the wing covers. Does anyone have any idea what this might have been?
Tim Eisele
tcei...@mtu.edu
Doug Yanega
What you have there is a male Oil Beetle, genus Meloe (either M. impressus
or M. angusticollis), family Meloidae (Blister Beetles), which are
parasites of ground-nesting solitary bees. Excellent description!
--
Doug Yanega
Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Biodiversity
607 E. Peabody Dr. Champaign, IL 61820 USA
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is
the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick