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Cerocoma schaefferi
Blister beetle resting on a yarrow on the side of a road.
The male of this small beetle has very large and strange antennae. The female lays her eggs on a plant foraged by square-headed wasps which use prey (Ortoptera or Mantis) to feed their larvae. The tiny Cerocoma larva climbs on a feeding wasp. If it is a female of the right species, it will lead them directly to the nest. He will drop into a cell, kill the wasp larva and take advantage of the food at his disposal to go out as an adult in the spring.
The male of this small beetle has very large and strange antennae. The female lays her eggs on a plant foraged by square-headed wasps which use prey (Ortoptera or Mantis) to feed their larvae. The tiny Cerocoma larva climbs on a feeding wasp. If it is a female of the right species, it will lead them directly to the nest. He will drop into a cell, kill the wasp larva and take advantage of the food at his disposal to go out as an adult in the spring.
Created: May 18, 2019
© Anne SORBES
Photo size: 24.2 Mpixels (69.1 MB uncompressed) - 6019x4013 pixels (20.0x13.3 in / 51.0x34.0 cm at 300 ppi)
Photo keywords: Animal, beetle, Blister beetle, Cerocoma, Cerocoma shaefferi, Coleoptera, Insecta, Macro, Male, Meloidae, Nature, Occitanie, Pyrénées, Pyrénées Orientales, Wildlife

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