Like wily perfumers, a parasitic beetle’s larvae create floral aromas to lure in bees. Plants are known to cosplay as animals, but this rare discovery could be the first known example of an animal chemically mimicking a plant.
Larvae of the European blister beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus) emerge from the ground in spring, climb up grasses and clump together to form bright orange masses that resemble flowers. When a bee draws near, the larvae rapidly latch on to catch a ride back to its nest, before eating its eggs and continuing their life cycle. How exactly the larvae lure in the bees was a mystery.
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