Schwarzer Maiwurm - Meloe proscarabaeus - European oil beetle, Germany
The beetles are 11 to 35 millimeters long. The chitin shell shines black-blue all over the body. The head and pronotum are roughly dotted and shine in the spaces between the dots.
The finely granulated elytra are greatly shortened and overlap slightly at the base, which is unusual in beetles.
The diurnal animals usually stay on the ground. They feed on plant parts. When threatened, they secrete a yellow defensive secretion from their knee joints to deter enemies.
Like all oil beetle species, the black-blue oil beetle also produces its own poison: cantharidin. The poison is very effective against warm-blooded animals, but the German Nature Conservation Association (NABU) has given the all-clear: The poison of a single beetle is not enough to kill a person, nor has the black-and-blue oil beetle ever poisoned people or domestic animals been.
Schwarzer Maiwurm - Meloe proscarabaeus - European oil beetle, Germany
The beetles are 11 to 35 millimeters long. The chitin shell shines black-blue all over the body. The head and pronotum are roughly dotted and shine in the spaces between the dots.
The finely granulated elytra are greatly shortened and overlap slightly at the base, which is unusual in beetles.
The diurnal animals usually stay on the ground. They feed on plant parts. When threatened, they secrete a yellow defensive secretion from their knee joints to deter enemies.
Like all oil beetle species, the black-blue oil beetle also produces its own poison: cantharidin. The poison is very effective against warm-blooded animals, but the German Nature Conservation Association (NABU) has given the all-clear: The poison of a single beetle is not enough to kill a person, nor has the black-and-blue oil beetle ever poisoned people or domestic animals been.