next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects --Apple-Mail-331-772517333 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Rick, This is a blister beetle (Meloidae) in the genus Meloe, very probably Meloe angusticollis Say. I'd need to examine a male (this one is a female) at close rage to definitively rule out two other possible species. This is a common and widely distributed species in the Maritimes, and the adults typically emerge at this time of year to mate. The biology of Meloe spp. is quite intriguing. The larvae are parasitoids on the larvae various species of bees. The Meloe larvae attach themselves to adult bees that visit flowers and are then conveyed by them back to the nests where they parasitize the bee larvae. The adults are phytophagous but its unlikely that they were feeding on the fruiting bodies of the moss since they typically feed on the leaves and flowers of a number of vascular plants in the families Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Solonaceae. As far as I know there are no meloids that feed on bryophytes. Excellent photo! Chris On 27-Apr-12, at 5:55 PM, Rick Whitman wrote: > We have Indigo Buntings and indigo Blue Grosbeaks all over the > province, so why not some "Indigo" Beetles ? I had 3 of these on the > Gaspereau River trail, upriver from White Rock, Kings Co. I believe > they were feeding on the fruiting bodies of the moss & you can see in > the photos that very few of those fruiting bodies remain. Could one of > our coleopterists give me the correct name for these ? Thanks. > > http://rickwhitman.smugmug.com/Nature/Insects/17693930_vWwZBS#! > i=1816199928&k=sFrNk2v > > Rick Whitman Christopher Majka <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Research Associate: Nova Scotia Museum | http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/research-asfr.htm * Review Editor: The Coleopterists Bulletin | http://www.coleopsoc.org/ * Subject Editor: ZooKeys | http://pensoftonline.net/zookeys/index.php/journal/index * Review Editor: Zootaxa | http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/taxa/Coleoptera.html * Associate Editor: Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society | http://www.acadianes.org/journal.html * Editor: Atlantic Canada Coleoptera | http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/index.html * Editor: Bugguide, Coleoptera http://bugguide.net Whenever I hear of the capture of rare beetles, I feel like an old war- horse at the sound of a trumpet. - Charles Darwin --Apple-Mail-331-772517333 Content-Type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi = Rick,<div><br></div><div>This is a blister beetle (Meloidae) in the = genus <i>Meloe</i>, very probably <i>Meloe angusticollis</i> Say. = I'd need to examine a male (this one is a female) at close rage to = definitively rule out two other possible species. This is a common and = widely distributed species in the Maritimes, and the adults typically = emerge at this time of year to mate.</div><div><br></div><div>The = biology of <i>Meloe</i> spp. is quite intriguing. The larvae are = parasitoids on the larvae various species of bees. The <i>Meloe</i> = larvae attach themselves to adult bees that visit flowers and are then = conveyed by them back to the nests where they parasitize the bee = larvae. </div><div><br></div><div>The adults are phytophagous but = its unlikely that they were feeding on the fruiting bodies of the moss = since they typically feed on the leaves and flowers of a number of = vascular plants in the families Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Solonaceae. As = far as I know there are no meloids that feed on = bryophytes.</div><div><br></div><div>Excellent = photo!</div><div><br></div><div>Chris</div><div><br><div><div>On = 27-Apr-12, at 5:55 PM, Rick Whitman wrote:</div><br = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div>We = have Indigo Buntings and indigo Blue Grosbeaks all over the<br>province, = so why not some "Indigo" Beetles ? I had 3 of these on the<br>Gaspereau = River trail, upriver from White Rock, Kings Co. I believe<br>they were = feeding on the fruiting bodies of the moss & you can see in<br>the = photos that very few of those fruiting bodies remain. Could one = of<br>our coleopterists give me the correct name for these ? = Thanks.<br><br><a = href=3D"http://rickwhitman.smugmug.com/Nature/Insects/17693930_vWwZBS#!i">= http://rickwhitman.smugmug.com/Nature/Insects/17693930_vWwZBS#!i</a>=3D181= 6199928&k=3DsFrNk2v<br><br>Rick = Whitman<br></div></blockquote></div><br></div><br><br><div = apple-content-edited=3D"true"> <span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: = 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; = white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: = 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: = 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: = 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: = 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; = font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; = orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; = widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div = style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; = "><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><font class=3D"Apple-style-span"= size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; = ">Christopher Majka <<a = href=3D"mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca">c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca</a>> = | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada</span></font></div><div><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 12px; "><br></span></font></div><div><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 12px; ">* Research Associate: Nova Scotia Museum = | <a = href=3D"http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/research-asfr.htm">http://museum.gov.n= s.ca/mnh/research-asfr.htm</a></span></font></div><div><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 12px; ">* Review Editor: The Coleopterists Bulletin = | <a = href=3D"http://www.coleopsoc.org/">http://www.coleopsoc.org/</a></span></f= ont></div><div><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; ">* Subject Editor: = ZooKeys | <a = href=3D"http://pensoftonline.net/zookeys/index.php/journal/index">http://p= ensoftonline.net/zookeys/index.php/journal/index</a></span></font></div><d= iv><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; ">* Review Editor: = Zootaxa | <a = href=3D"http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/taxa/Coleoptera.html">http://www.ma= press.com/zootaxa/taxa/Coleoptera.html</a></span></font></div><div><font = class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" = style=3D"font-size: 12px; ">* Associate Editor: Journal of the Acadian = Entomological Society | <a = href=3D"http://www.acadianes.org/journal.html">http://www.acadianes.org/jo= urnal.html</a></span></font></div><div><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" = size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; = ">* Editor: Atlantic Canada Coleoptera | <a = href=3D"http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/index.html">http://w= ww.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/index.html</a></span></font></div><d= iv><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; ">* Editor: = Bugguide, Coleoptera <a = href=3D"http://bugguide.net">http://bugguide.net</a></span></font></div><d= iv><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" size=3D"3"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; = "><br></span></font></div><div><i><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" = size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; = ">Whenever I hear of the capture of rare beetles, I feel like an = old war-horse at the sound of a trumpet.</span></font></i><span = class=3D"Apple-converted-space"><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" = size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; = "> </span></font></span><font class=3D"Apple-style-span" = size=3D"3"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"font-size: 12px; = ">- = Charles Darwin</span></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div= ></div></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span> = </div><br></body></html>= --Apple-Mail-331-772517333--
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects