Karem S. Ghoneim
The blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) are global distributed insects except for New Zealand and Antarctic region. They are characterized by some attentive phenomena such as hypermetamorphosis, diapause and cantharidin production. Some meloid genera and species are reported as agronomic pests, depending on both the beetle population and the sensitivity of the crop. So many institutions and researchers are engaged in the systematics, ecology, biology of blister beetles while few only are interesting in their physiology and biochemistry. Therefore, the present work aims to enhance the research attention for investigating several physiological and biochemical aspects of these beetles. Herein, the available reported works in literature were reviewed focusing on food metabolism, reproductive physiology, meloid responses to the environmental factors and physiological nature of diapause, as well as cantharidin production, mode of action, natural utilization, and uses of the compound in the field of pest control and plant growth regulation.
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