Taxa
Meloidae
Family
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Meloidae is a family of beetles in the order Coleoptera commonly known as blister beetles, named by Gyllenhaal in 1810. About 2,500 species are known worldwide, many of them conspicuous or brightly colored to advertise their toxicity to predators. Blister beetles produce a defensive secretion containing cantharidin, a blistering agent that has also been extracted historically for medicinal use.
Sources
Meloidae (Wikipedia)
IntroductionQuote, Introduction
Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin.
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