BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 67
Blister Beetles and
Cantharidin
In our last issue we provided a survey
of the blister beetles which are found,
or which may possibly be found, in
the Black Range.
The Meloidae are blister beetles and
were the subject of the January 2026
article in this journal. Oedemaridae
are the ÒFalse Blister BeetlesÓ; both
they and Meloidae are in the
Superfamily Tenebrionoidea.
H. Yazaki, K. Hashimoto, N. Sato, and
F. Hayashi reported their Þndings
about the chemical cantharidin and its
role in the natural history of (among
other species) blister beetles on
30 September 2025. (ÒCantharidin
world on bird droppings: Reused
cantharidin after bird predation of
cantharidin-producing insectsÓ,
Entomological Science, 28: e12612.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ens.12612.)
Quoted material (below) is from this
article; citations within the article are
removed here.
ÒCantharidin (C10H12O4), (is) a
monoterpene anhydride . . . it is
produced only by the beetles of
Meloidae and Oedemeridae as a
defensive chemical against entomopathogenic fungi, predatory insects,
and vertebrate enemies. Male adult
meloids contain synthesized cantharidin, but females are unable to synthesize it and acquire it from males
through frequent copulation for
defense of themselves and deposited
eggs from predators. In contrast, both
sexes of oedemerids produce cantharidin in their bodies and there is little
or no transfer of it from males to
females.
ÒCantharidin also functions in
attracting arthropods other than
cantharidin-producing beetles and
forms a peculiar community, the socalled Ôcantharidin worldÕ. The
members of this community interact
via cantharidin.Ó
The subject article describes many of
the interactions of the Òcantharidin
worldÓ and in particular how various
insect species go about obtaining
cantharidin when they are unable to
produce it themselves. It is such a
valuable chemical in the natural
history of many species that they will
search out any source of the chemical
and ingest it.
If this type of detail in the study of
natural history fascinates you this
article is an excellent resource.
Humans and the
Rest of Nature
ÒAmid global environmental changes,
urbanisation erodes nature
connectedness, an important driver of
pro-environmental behaviours and
human well-being, exacerbating
human-made risks like biodiversity
loss and climate change.Ó
(Richardson, M. ÒModelling Nature
Connectedness Within Environmental
Systems: Human-Nature Relationships
from 1800 to 2020 and BeyondÓ,
Earth 2025, 6, 82. https://doi.org/
10.3390/earth6030082)
The truth of this statement punched
me in the face a few years ago when
we had a delivery made from El Paso
to our little mountain berg in New
Mexico. The driver was young,
friendly, and excited. He had seen a
herd of deer while driving into town.
He had never seen a herd of deer.
And I wondered how you can teach
natural history to someone who has
never experienced nature.
Sex
In a number of previous articles we
have discussed the multiplicity of
reproductive systems which life
employs on this planet. If you can
think of a variation, something is
doing it. The hardwiring which some
humans believe to be the norm is
simply not. One of the most
interesting reproductive processes
involves sex change - when, for
whatever reason, the sex of an
individual changes during the course
of its life. In ÒPrevalence and
implications of sex reversal in freeliving birdsÓ Hall et al. (13 August
2025, The Royal SocietyÕs Biology
Letters 2120250182) report on their
Þndings that ÒBy comparing internal
and external morphological characteristics with polymerase chain
reaction results from sex-linked
molecular markers, we identiÞed sexreversed individuals in all Þve
species, with rates ranging from 3 to
6%. Our Þndings suggest that sex
66
reversal is a common and potentially
widespread phenomenon in avian
species.Ó
To further complicate perceptions,
JuvŽ et al. in ÒOne mother for two
species via obligate cross-species
cloning in antsÓ (JuvŽ, Y., Lutrat, C.,
Ha, A. et al., Nature, 03 September
2025) report on their Þndings that a
queen harvester ant lays eggs which
hatch into two species. Through Òa
combination of Þeld work, population
genomic analyses and laboratory
experiments (we) provide the
resolution of this paradox: females of
one of the species (M. ibericus) clone
males of the other (Messor structor),
as they need their sperm to produce
the worker caste. We discuss the
evolutionary history of this natural
case of cross-species cloning, which
suggests a domestication-like process
for exploiting another speciesÕ
gametes . . . producing another
speciesÕ male is not an accident, but a
female life cycle requirement. We
suggest deÞning such females as
xenoparous, meaning they need to
produce individuals of another
species as part of their life cycle.Ó
Weather
Russell Bowen, HillsboroÕs resident
meteorologist, provides a monthly
email summary of what the weather
was like in Hillsboro. In his report on
the weather of August 2025 he noted:
ÒThe high temperature for the month
was 102 degrees on the 5th . . . the
low temperature for the month of 57
degrees was also on the 5th. The 45
degree temperature span was not due
to a front in the area. Clear skies, light
winds, and low humidity allowed for
strong radiational cooling at night and
clear skies, light winds, and strong
high pressure aloft allowed for
maximum afternoon heating.Ó Large
daily temperature variations are
typically explained by weather fronts
moving through an area. Here, things
can be a little more complex than that.
Monarchs
On numerous occasions we have
discussed the natural history of the
Monarch butterßy. In ÒThe impact of
temperature on the reproductive
development, body condition and
mortality of autumn migrating
monarch butterßies in the laboratoryÓ
