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- ›Meloinae
- ›Meloini
- ›Meloe
Afromeloe
Meloe is a genus of blister beetles commonly referred to as oil beetles. The name derives from their defensive strategy: when threatened they release oily droplets of hemolymph from their joints (legs, neck, and antennae). This fluid is bright orange and contains cantharidin, a poisonous chemical compound. Wiping the chemical on skin can cause blistering and painful swelling of the skin. This defensive strategy is not exclusive to this genus; all meloids possess and exude cantharidin upon threat.
11 branches of this group, most-observed first

Cape Oil Beetle
speciesMeloe angulatus

Meloe caffer
speciesMeloe caffer
Meloe trapeziderus
speciesMeloe trapeziderus

Meloe chevrolati
speciesMeloe chevrolati

Meloe meridianus
speciesMeloe meridianus
Meloe seineri
speciesMeloe seineri
Meloe adisabebae
speciesMeloe adisabebae
Meloe atrocyaneus
speciesMeloe atrocyaneus
Meloe lefevrei
speciesMeloe lefevrei
Meloe sanaanus
speciesMeloe sanaanus
Meloe ukinganus
speciesMeloe ukinganus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Afromeloe in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 1099232.