Scientific: Berberomeloe majalis (Linnaeus, 1758) also Meloe majalis
English: Red-striped Oil Beetle (Blister Beetle)
Spanish: Curilla / Aceitera
Family Carabidae (Ground Beetles)
Distribution: Most of Iberia, Southern France and the coastal fringe of North Africa
The Red-striped Oil Beetle can reach a length of 6 cm. The basic colour is black with a red or orange stripe crossing each body segment. With the legs positioned towards the front of the body, the cylindrical abdomen is dragged along the ground. There are tiny elytra on the thorax but this beetle is unable to fly.
These large beetles tend to be localized and can often be seen in groups in the spring if the habitat is favourable. They live on sandy soils with mixed grasses and sparse scrub in woods and orchards or more open terrain. The female is much larger than the male with the shape and colouration being the same. A male will follow a female persistently until he is accepted as a mate.
After copulation the female will lay thousands of eggs in the ground in the vicinity of solitary bees. The elongated, hatched larvae climb up to a flower. Here they await a bee. It must be a solitary bee and with their strong claws they hitch a ride back to the bee’s nest. Once inside the nest a host egg is consumed and the beetle larva takes up residence in the cell. They continue to grow by feeding on the food mass stored for the bee pupa. Many eggs are laid by the female but few will reach maturity due to the complex combination of events that will place it in a bee’s nest where it may grow and complete its transformation.
When fully matured they leave the bees nest and as an adult are herbivores, feeding on different plant leaves and flowers.
If these adult beetles feel threatened a defense mechanism is to secrete an oily substance that is toxic, hence the common English name. This liquid can cause skin to blister and will be very painful if it makes contact with your eyes.
In the coastal areas of Murcia, Almeria and Granada there is another species which is endemic to this small part of Spain, Berberomeloe insignis. The shape and size are similar but this species is completely black over its body with two or three red patches on its head only. At present, their survival is seriously threatened by housing developments, golf courses and greenhouses. The first two have drastically reduced the size of their habitat, while the heavy use of pesticides for intensive crops under plastic appears to have severely damaged the population of wild bees in the region, on whose nests the larvae of Berberomeloe depend.
Credit for this image of Berberomeloe insignis endemic to south east Spain go to
The Castilian common names are many, the two most used are:
Curita - used in Andalusia for its resemblance to the look of seminary students who historically wore black cassocks with a red waist band.
Aceitera - as they are capable of releasing a toxic and oily liquid, containing cantharidin.
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He had kept cattle all his life and said that in order to stop the calves taking it's mothers milk, they would smear some oil beetles on the udder and teats of the cow. He told me that the calf would only try this once - never attempting this again so foul is the taste!
I did have some thoughts for the poor beetles as well!