THE blister beetle Meloe franciscanus of the Mojave Desert has
evolved an extraordinary trick. Its parasitic larvae survive by feeding on the
eggs and food of solitary bees. But to get into the bees鈥� nests, hundreds of
newly hatched larvae form clumps that resemble female bees in shape, colour and
possibly even smell.
When an amorous male bee tries to mate with one of these clumps, the tiny
larvae grab hold, John Hafernik and Leslie Saul-Gershenz of San Francisco State
University reveal in this week鈥檚 Nature (vol 405, p 35).
鈥淚t鈥檚 like landing on Velcro,鈥� says Hafernik. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty remarkable that
they can fly off.鈥� By transferring to a genuine female bee when the male tries
to mate again, some of the larvae get a ride to the female鈥檚 nest.
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