Texas Beetle Resources

Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn

False Blister Beetles of Texas - Family Oedemeridae

Also known as Pollen-feeding Beetles, they frequent flowers and often come to lights.

30 species of oedemerids have been recorded from Texas (E.G. Riley, pers. comm. 2012)
The following thumbnails represent 86% of the Texas total.

Texas speciemens photographed from the EGRC, TAMUIC or the UTIC Collection.

Subfamily Polypriinae

Polypria cruxrufa Chevrolat - Polypria cruxrufa

Polypria cruxrufa Chevrolat - Map: 3, 4, 5

Subfamily Calopodinae

Calopus angustus LeConte - Lit. record, no further data

Sparedrus aspersus (LeConte) - Sparedrus aspersus

        Sparedrus aspersus (LeConte) - Map: 3, 4, 5, 6

        Sparedrus depressus (Champion) - Map: 6

Subfamily Oedemerinae

Tribe Nacerdini

Nacerdes melanura (Linnaeus) - Wharf Borer, native to the Old World - Map: 4

        Xanthochroa erythrocephala (Germar) - Map: 1

    Tribe Asclerini

Asclera puncticollis (Say) - Asclera puncticollis

Asclera puncticollis (Say) - Map: 4

False blister beetle - Asclera ruficollis

Red-necked False Blister Beetle - Asclera ruficollis

Asclera ruficollis (Say) - Map: 1, 4

Soldier Beetle - Copidita quadrimaculata

Copidita quadrimaculata? - Copidita quadrimaculata

        Copidita quadrimaculata (Motschulsky) - Map: 6

Eumecomera obscura (LeConte) - Eumecomera obscura

Eumecomera obscura (LeConte) - Map: 6

Heliocis repanda (Horn) - Heliocis repanda

Heliocis repanda (Horn) - Map: 1, 4, 5, 6

Hypasclera dorsalis (Melsheimer) - Hypasclera dorsalis

        Hypasclera dorsalis (Melsheimer) - Map: 2, 3

        Hypasclera pleuralis (LeConte) - Map: 1, 2, 3, 4

Oxacis angustata Champion - Oxacis angustata

        Oxacis angustata Champion - Map: 3, 6

        Oxacis barbara Arnett - Map: 2, 3, 6, 7

Oxacis bernadettei Arnett - Oxacis bernadettei

Oxacis bernadettei Arnett - Map: 3, 7

Oxacis caerulea Champion - Oxacis caerulea

Oxacis caerulea Champion - Map: 3

Oxacis cana (LeConte) - Map: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Oxacis pallida (LeConte) - Oxacis pallida

Oxacis pallida (LeConte) - Map: 3, 4, 6, 7

        Oxacis sericea Horn - Map: 3

        Oxacis subfusca Horn - Map: 3, 6

Oxacis trimaculata Champion - Map: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Oxacis trirossi Arnett - Oxacis trirossi

Oxacis trirossi Arnett - Map: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Oxycopis howdeni Arnett - Oxycopis howdeni

Oxycopis howdeni Arnett - Map: 3, 6

Oxycopis mimetica (Horn) - Oxycopis mimetica

False Blister Beetle - Oxycopis mimetica

Oxycopis mimetica (Horn) - Map: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

False blister beetle (3) - Oxycopis notoxoides

Another Oedemerid? - Oxycopis notoxoides

Oxycopis notoxoides (Fabricius) - Oxycopis notoxoides

Oxycopis notoxoides (Fabricius) - Map: 1, 4

Oxycopis thoracica (Fabricius) - Oxycopis thoracica

        Oxycopis thoracica (Fabricius) - Map: 1, 4

        Paroxacis recendita (Arnett) - Map: 3

Vasaces elongatus Arnett - Vasaces elongatus

Vasaces elongatus Arnett - Map: 6

Xanthochroina bicolor (LeConte) - Xanthochroina bicolor

Xanthochroina bicolor (LeConte) - Map: 6

Vegetational Regions of Texas

Figure l. Texas county map with seven vegetational areas following Cory and Parks, 1937 (redrawn).

Region l* - east Texas pineywoods or timber belt
Region 2 - coastal prairie and marsh
Region 3 - south Texas plains and lower Rio Grande valley
Region 4 - blackland prairie and post oak savanna
Region 5 - Edwards Plateau
Region 6 - Trans-Pecos
Region 7 - northwest Texas rolling and high plains and north central cross timbers and prairies

*As in Riley and Wolfe (2003), species here were assigned to regions based on field collections, from localities found on specimen labels, and from cited localities and point or shaded distribution maps found in the pertinent literature. Point localities that are on the border between fwo or more regions are assigned to both regions unless the bulk of the evidence indicates that the species is unlikely to occur in one or the other. Some particular problems here are localities from the literature and from specimen labels such as "San Antonio," at the convergence of three regions; "Houston," on the border of two or three regions; and "Austin," on the border of two sharply differentiated regions. (E.G. Riley, pers. comm. 2012)

Selected References

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1948. A preliminary key to the genera of Oedemeridae of the world. Coleopterists Bulletin 2(2): 13-14.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1951. A revision of the Nearctic Oedemeridae (Coleoptera). American Midland Naturalist 45: 257-391.

Arnett, R.H. J. 1956. Contribution towards a monograph of the Oedemeridae 9. Notes on the genus Oxacis LeConte. Coleopterists Bulletin 10(2): 21-25.

Arnett, R.H. J. 1956. Contribution towards a monograph of the Oedemeridae 10. Two new species of Oxacis LeConte and the rediscription [sic] of an additional species. Coleopterists Bulletin 10(4): 57-60.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1961. Contribution toward a monograph of the Oedemeridae. 14. A key to and notes on the New World genera. Coleopterists Bulletin 15(2): 49-64.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1963. The phenogram, a method of description for studies on Oxacis (Coleoptera, Oedemeridae). Coleopterists Bulletin 17(1): 6-18.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1964. Some nomenclatural changes in Oedemeridae (Coleoptera). Coleopterists Bulletin 18(2): 33-36. JSTOR

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1965. Species of Oedemeridae of the Big Bend region of Texas. Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, 118(3523): 47-55.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1968. Oedemeridae (Latreille, 1810). The false blister beetles. The Beetles of the United States. The American Entomological Institute. Ann Arbor, MI. 1112 pp.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 1983. Family 119. Oedemeridae, The False Blister Beetles. Checklist of the Beetles of North and Central America and the West Indies, vol. 6. Flora and Fanuna Publications, Gainesville, FL. 6 pp.

Arnett, R.H., Jr. 2008. False blister beetles, Coleoptera: Oedemeridae. Featured Creatures. University of Florida Publication Number: EENY-154. (Full Text)

Cory, V.L. and H.B. Parks. 1937. Catalogue of the Flora of the state of Texas. Texas Agricultural Extension Sendce Bull. no. 550, 130 pp.

Horn, G.H. 1896[1897]. The Oedemeridae of Boreal America‎. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 6: 382-422.

Kriska, N.L. 2002. Oedemeridae Latreille 1810. Pp. 514–519. In: R.H. Arnett, Jr., M.C. Thomas, P.E. Skelley, and J.H. Frank (editors). American Beetles, Volume 2: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Leech, H.B. 1948. Host records for Calopus angustus LeC. (Oedemeridae). Coleopterists Bulletin 2(8): 75.

Leng, C.W. 1920. Catalogue of the Coleoptera of America, North of Mexico. John D. Sherman, Jr., Mount Vernon, NY. x + 470 pp. (Full Text)

Riley, E.G. and C.S. Wolfe. 2003. An Annotated Checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of Texas (Coleoptera). Southwestern Entomologist, Supplement no. 26: 1-37. (Full PDF)

Vaurie, P. 1951. Blistering caused by oedemerid beetles. Coleopterists Bulletin 5(5/6): 78-79.