Oedemeridae

Definition

A cosmopolitan family of soft-bodied beetles (Coleoptera) commonly known as false blister beetles or pollen-feeding beetles, characterized by larvae that develop in decaying wood and adults that frequent flowers for pollen and nectar. The family comprises approximately 100 genera and 1,500 species, with adults often displaying slender, parallel-sided bodies and some species exhibiting swollen femora in males.

Etymology

From the type genus Oedemera (Greek oedema, 'swelling' + meros, 'part'), alluding to the swollen leg segments found in some species.

Example

The false blister beetle Oedemera nobilis, with its conspicuously swollen hind femora in males, is a frequent visitor to umbelliferous flowers in European meadows, where adults feed on pollen while their larvae develop in the decaying heartwood of old oak stumps.

Synonyms

• False blister beetles
• pollen-feeding beetles

Related Terms

• Coleoptera
• Tenebrionoidea
• Oedemera
• saproxylic
• flower-visiting insects
• pollen-feeding
• Blister beetle
• Meloidae

Usage Notes

The common name 'false blister beetles' reflects historical confusion with the unrelated blister beetles (family Meloidae), which produce cantharidin; Oedemeridae do not synthesize this compound. Some recent authors prefer 'pollen-feeding beetles' to emphasize adult ecology, though this term risks confusion with other anthophilous beetle families. Larvae are strictly saproxylic and serve as indicators of veteran tree habitat quality in conservation assessments. The family is placed in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea within the suborder Polyphaga.