The extraordinary Oil Beetle.

While out on the U.K Wiltshire downs this year, I came across these fascinating Oil Beetles for the first time and although the beetles were very active, I a took a couple of photographs that I thought the Coleopterists on the forum might like to see. I have since then read as much as I can about their extraordinary life cycle. The larvae wait on flower heads to grab hold of any unwitting Solitary Mining Bees with their hooked feet. They are then carried by the bees into their nest where they devour the eggs and the store of pollen and nectar. They are also known as blister beetles because they can release a poisonous chemical called Cantharidin which can cause blistering to the skin or sometimes painful swelling.

I believe the beetles I found are either The Black Oil Beetle [ meloe proscarabaeus or The Violet Oil Beetle [Meloe violaceus] which are very similar in appearance. Anyone any ideas. There are five British species, one has just been rediscovered after having believed to be extinct. Three species have become extinct in Britain due to habitat loss.

Photograph below, male chasing female.