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This page last updated on 04/20/2019
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Description: Lytta magister (also known as the desert blister beetle or master blister beetle) is a species of blister beetle found in southwestern North America. The Master Blister Beetles are probably the most common species of blister beetle. The Master Blister Beetle has an orange head and thorax. Typically 0.6 to 1.3 inches in length. The Lytta magister has a striking red (orange) head, legs and prothorax, with black elytra. The blister beetle insects can usually be found in the Midwest & Southwest parts of United States. Currently, more than seventy-thousand five-hundred bugs species are found in America. Among the most conspicuous of insects in the Sonoran Desert spring are Blister Beetles in the family Meloidae. The Blister Beetle is found in the desert during the early Summer. Don't attempt to handle them; their bodies contain a toxin called (cantharadin) that can cause blisters to form on the skin.
