Diet, Body Water, and Hemolymph Content in the Blister Beetle Lytta polita (Coleoptera: Meloidae)

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Abstract
Microscopic analysis of gut contents of freshly caught Lytia polita Say usually revealed an abundance of pollen exclusively from the genus Pinus. The overwhelming preference of these blister beetles for staminate pine cones was confirmed in laboratory feeding trials. Body water content in wild L. polita was significantly greater than in laboratory-reared Epicauta pestifera Werner, a meloid used as a reference (71 versus 52% total mass, respectively), but the two species contained equivalent amounts of hemolymph (27% total mass). These results were surprising because staminate pine cones eaten by L. polita were very dry in comparison with the artificial diet of E. pestifera (33 versus 83% total mass, respectively). L. polita beetles readily drank water in the laboratory, so in the wild they probably gain water by ingesting rain or dew.