ears of corn and other crops, while the

larvae, scavenging in the soil, will feed on seeds

and seedlings. More seriously, they are a veterinary

risk, because livestock grazing in pasture heavily

infested with adults can be poisoned by ingesting

large numbers of the adult beetles.

and neurotoxins found in South American

poison dart frogs. This poison may deter

most predators, but some birds, such as

the hooded pitohui from New Guinea’s

rainforests, also secrete batrachotoxins in

their skin and feathers, to the extent that

researchers have reported numbness and

skin tingling from merely touching live birds.

It is thought that these strange “poisonous

birds” gain their chemical defense from

seeking out and eating the melyrid beetles

opposite | Astylus variegatus on flowers

in Brazil. These excellent pollinators

can occur in huge numbers.

below | Malachius bipustulatus

The Malachite Beetle is a

colorful species commonly found

in summer in flowery meadows

throughout Europe.

right | Carphurus This

soft-winged flower beetle has

short wing cases, and bright

warning colors. This one is

feeding on moth eggs.