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--0015174c37180741600487ea7646 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 On the walk along the Glenelg, St. Mary's River floodplain with Bob Bancroft I took this photo <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideaphore/4657582046/> of a large flightless Blister Beetle <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meloe> digging in the sand. In fact its head is buried in the sand. There was some discussion at the time as to whether it was a beetle, since it does not have the usual full wing covers. I sent a short note off to www.whatsthisbug.comlast night and got an answer this morning. Luckily no one picked it up...Wikipedia says the following: "They are known as "oil beetles" because they release oily droplets of hemolymph from their joints when disturbed; this contains cantharidin, a poisonous chemical causing blistering of the skin and painful swelling." -- Rick Ballard Dartmouth,Nova Scotia, Canada http://www.ideaphore.com --0015174c37180741600487ea7646 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On the walk along the Glenelg, St. Mary's River floodplain with Bob Ban= croft I took this <a href=3D"http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideaphore/4657582= 046/">photo</a> of a large flightless <a href=3D"http://en.wikipedia.org/wi= ki/Meloe">Blister Beetle</a> digging in the sand. In fact its head is burie= d in the sand. There was some discussion at the time as to whether it was a= beetle, since it does not have the usual full wing covers. I sent a short = note off to <a href=3D"http://www.whatsthisbug.com">www.whatsthisbug.com</a= > last night and got an answer this morning.<br> <br>Luckily no one picked it up...Wikipedia says the following:<br><br><div= style=3D"margin-left: 40px;">"They are known as "oil beetles&quo= t; because they release oily droplets of hemolymph from their joints when disturbed; this contains cantharidin, a poisonous chemical causing blistering of the skin and painful=20 swelling."<br clear=3D"all"></div><br>-- <br>Rick Ballard <br>Dartmout= h,Nova Scotia, Canada <br><a href=3D"http://www.ideaphore.com">http://www.i= deaphore.com</a><br> --0015174c37180741600487ea7646--
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