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Meloë on Pulsatilla. (72)
peter_stoeckl Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1541 W: 269 N: 3363] (9361)
Meloë on Pulsatilla.

Friday, the 21st of March, officially the first day of spring, has brought cold weather and wet snow to most of the places that we found covered with blossoms of spring just one week ago - like this one:

Eichkogel, a grassy hilltop south of Vienna, covered with Large Hungarian Pasque Flowers (Pulsatilla grandis), and one of those flowers just visited by a large, fat, shiningly black beetle, a female Meloë, that seemed to enjoy filling its stomach with petals and pollen.

> Close approach.


Meloë proscarabaeus (Linnaeus, 1758)

European oil beetle,
Großer Ölkäfer, Maiwurm,
Gewone oliekever,
Майка обыкновенная.

Ordo: Coleoptera
Family: Meloidae

Body length: 35mm.

Meloë proscarabaeus is found in dry meadows and other warm sites from all over Europe into Central Asia except the far north of the continent. The female's abdomen is swollen with eggs, and widely protruding from under the wingcovers.

As with many parasites, many thousands of eggs are produced. Meloë eggs will be laid in the soil. The parasitic larvae - called "Triungulus", climb into a flower, preferably buttercups, in order to wait for a visiting solitary bee. With their strong claws the larvae attach themselves to the bee and will be taken into its nest, where they feed on the bee's eggs, and on the pollen and nectar collected. Pupation will take place in the bee's nest, from where the beetle leaves in spring in order to seek a mate.

Apparently a fat prey for insect eating predators, the beetle produces a toxic, bad tasting, evil smelling oil that is set free in droplets from the joints of legs and from the sides of abdomen for self defense.

The species does not successfully breed in Apis mellifera bee hives but depends on solitary bees.

In Central Europe, the species is endangered with its habitat of uncultivated open meadows, and red listed.
The beetles may be found from April (or even March) to June.

Literature:

Harde, Severa: Der Kosmos Käferführer, Die mitteleuropäischen Käfer, Stuttgart 2000,

Camera:

SONY DSC-H5, 3072 x 2304 pixel, sRGB, 16mm tele macro (= 96mm at 35mm SLR), F/4, 1/800sec., ISO-125; hand held, no flash; 15.03.2008, 16:13.

Postwork:

Photoshop Elements, slightly cropped, downsized to web, resharpened, brightness, contrast and saturation adjusted.

With special thanks to my friend Dr. Jörg Hildebrandt, a passiante lover of nature, who seems to spend most of his spare time from the clinics out in the fields, robbing flat on the ground to study plants and insects.
He discovered and showed me that oil beetle visiting the blossom on that trip we made together.

More details on the flower: Pulsatilla grandis.


Thank you for visiting.

Have a very good day, and Happy Easter Holidays!
Altered Image #1

peter_stoeckl Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1541 W: 269 N: 3363] (9361)
Close approach.
Edited by:peter_stoeckl Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1541 W: 269 N: 3363] (9361)
Meloë on Pulsatilla - closely approached.

Camera: SONY DSC-H5, 3072 x 2304 pixel, sRGB,
16mm tele macro (= 96mm at 35mm SLR), F/4, 1/400sec., ISO-125; hand held, no flash; 15.03.2008, 16:10. Postwork: Photoshop Elements, slightly cropped, downsized to web, resharpened, brightness, contrast and saturation adjusted.

Hope you enjoy.