Master Blister Beetles

Nala and I where playing ball the other day and she kept going over to a little plant and staring at it.  I had to go and see what she found and there were these mating bugs.  Wow, I have never seen bugs like this before.   It amazes me that I can live in Arizona for as long as I have and I'm still seeing new and unusual things. 

I put Nala inside and I got my camera.  I got down very close to these buggers and started watching them and taking their picture.   The next thing I know "Hey, are you ok?".   The neighbor is walking his dog and sees me laying in the driveway with my nice work clothes on and thinks I've keeled over or something.  "Oh yes" I tell him "I'm just taking pictures of some bugs".  Ha Ha.  Living next to us is so fun. 

The next step is trying to figure out what they are.  It really didn't take long to identify them once I got to the computer.  They are called Master Blister Beetles.  Here are some interesting facts about Master Blister Beetles

1. These beetles can grow up to a couple of inches long and be very colorful, a nice mix of deep black and bright red-orange.

2. The “blister” in the name refers to the beetle’s ability to pop a blood vessel in the joint of a leg, which causes the insect’s yellowish blood to ooze out. The beetles do this only when they are upset. The blood is not only bad smelling, it’s downright dangerous, capable of causing skin to blister painfully.  If a bird or mouse were to try to eat a master blister beetle, the hungry animal would get a mouthful of the disgusting blood, which might cause it to think twice about finishing the beetle off.

3. To impress a female, a male beetle has to be as large as his partner.  Biologists think that when the male climbs onto the female’s back, she can tell how much he weighs. Big females refuse to cooperate with males smaller than they are. Only big males have a chance with these individuals. Medium-sized and small males have to find a suitably mid-sized or small females if they are going to have a chance to pass their sperm to a mate.

4. After mating has begun, the female often drags the male with her from flower to flower.  She doesn’t let their coupling interfere with her meal, which is sensible because when the beetles mate, they remain attached for many hours, often more than 24! Eventually, however, the male and female separate.After mating has begun, the female often drags the male with her from flower to flower.  She doesn’t let their coupling interfere with her meal, which is sensible because when the beetles mate, they remain attached for many hours, often more than 24! Eventually, however, the male and female separate.


So really, think about how cool these things are.  If we could relate this to humans that would be so amazing.  Your about to be mugged in an alley and you have the ability to squirt "Mace" from your elbow at your attacker.   I won't relate the whole mating thing to humans but it is quite a funny thought. I can't date you until you tell me how much you weight because the bigger you are the better you are....and we definitely wouldn't want it to interfere with our meal.  Ha Ha

Anyway, they were gone the next morning but the plants around where they were had no leaves on them.  They stripped them clean.  Such interesting things around here.