Striped Blister Beetle

Epicauta vittata is a blister beetle in Meloidae. [3]

Adults measure 9–17 mm. The yellow head usually has two dark spots, the pronotum two dark stripes, and each wing cover two or three black stripes. The three-striped form characterizes the southeastern coastal plain. [1]

Records extend across the eastern United States west to the central plains, and into Ontario and Quebec. [1]

Arkansas populations have one or two overlapping annual generations. Mobile, long-legged hatchlings develop into reduced-legged forms; dormant larvae overwinter in soil. [1]

Larvae consume grasshopper eggs. Adults eat foliage and sometimes fruits, including pigweeds, alfalfa, potato and tomato. [1][2]

Adults aggregate for feeding and mating, especially in morning and late afternoon, and may drop from disturbed plants. [1]

Cantharidin in blister-beetle body fluid causes the skin irritation reflected in the family’s common name. Dead beetles retain this substance. [2]

Predators include robber flies and insect-eating birds. Epicauta atrata has been reported eating E. vittata eggs. [1]

Fabricius described the species in 1775. [3]

Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.