PLUMAS COUNTY, Calif. — A toxin-secreting beetle has been in two Northern California counties, prompting a warning for farmers.
According to Plumas Sierra Agricultural Commissioner Willo Vieira, samples were collected from plants in Sierra Valley. Testing confirmed the samples were Meloidae, from the blister beetle family.
The beetles feed on grasshopper egg pods or eggs of ground-nesting bees. They also feed in alfalfa fields of hay pasture with clover or other flowering plants.
UC Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor Tracy Schohr says the beetles typically don’t cause problems in California, but they do secrete a toxin that can blister skin and kill livestock.
“To reduce livestock mortality, you should check hay before feeding to livestock and to reduce incidence of blister beetles in hay by cutting before peak bloom,” said Schohr.
The amount of toxin in each species varies.
For more information call Tom Getts with UCCE at (530) 251-2601 or Willo Vieira in the Plumas Sierra Agricultural Commissioner’s office at (530) 283-6365.
