False blister beetle
Males of this beetle carry noticeably swollen hind thighs, while females of the same species have slender legs, making the sexes easy to tell apart.
| Where | Meadows, field margins, and flowery verges |
|---|---|
| Size | 7 to 12 mm body length |
| When | May to August |
This false blister beetle has a black head, yellow to light brown elytra sometimes darker at the sides, and at least partly yellow legs; males have strikingly swollen hind thighs that females lack.
Adults appear from mid spring and feed on pollen and nectar at flowers through summer, often visiting umbellifers and other open blooms in grassy places.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Black, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Best left undisturbed on flowers rather than handled, like other false blister beetles.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Smaller at 5 to 7 mm, with a dull metallic green to brownish body covered in dense grey hairs, and males lacking the strongly swollen hind thighs of the false blister beetle.
Questions
Is the False blister beetle dangerous to people?
Best left undisturbed on flowers rather than handled, like other false blister beetles.
When can you see the False blister beetle?
The False blister beetle can be seen from May to August, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Francisco Welter-Schultes, CC0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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Beetles›False blister beetles›Oedemera
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.