The existence of living things in the habitat is studied in different classes. Predation, parasitism and commensalism have been seen. Blister beetles in the desert
Don’t know how to grow?
Friends know about many animal species that cooperate with each other for survival. But there are some species that cheat other species for growth. Meloe franciscanus is a species of blister beetle found in the Mojave Desert of the United States. In the scorching heat of the desert, they lay their eggs in burrows a few centimeters deep in the sand. There will be an average of 760 eggs. The larvae that hatch all line up and sit in a ball-like cluster on the top of a nearby plant. They will continue like this for two weeks. They also release a pheromone similar to that released by the female bee. Attracted by this, the male digger bee will come to the site.
Assuring that the ball above the plant is a female bee, the bee tries to mate with it, and as many larvae as possible climb on top of the bee. The bee falls to the ground under their weight, but soon flies off again to mate with a true female bee. At this time, the larvae of the blister beetle will enter the body of the female bee. When the bee reaches the hive, these larvae eat the pollen and honey stored there for the bee larvae and then the bee larvae themselves. They stay there until they emerge as blister beetles the following winter.
How skillfully did these flightless blister beetles cheat to reach their destination? It is only after they reach the bee hive that they become fully grown blister beetles. The tiny larvae, known as triangulins, which hatch in the ground pit, have the same means of reaching a hive located elsewhere. Thus, these larvae release the same pheromone released by their female bees to attract male bees. Before reaching the hive, they only use the male and female bees as a vehicle for travel and do not harm them.
They have been observed clustering on plants at their flying height to attract bees of multiple species. Blister beetles rely on the same plant for food and nectar for the bees that visit them. Often at the base of this plant.
Content Summary : Blister beetle life cycle and honeybee
