• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

• Insects (Class Insecta)

• Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

• Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

• Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

• Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

• Darkling Beetles and Allies (Superfamily Tenebrionoidea)

• ​Blister Beetles (Family Meloida)

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Family Meloidae comprises the blister beetles, a distinctive family of soft-bodied beetles in the order Coleoptera. These insects are best known for producing cantharidin, a potent defensive chemical that can cause painful skin blisters in humans and is toxic to many animals. Adult blister beetles are typically elongate, with narrow thoraxes, soft wing covers, and often striking coloration that ranges from dull black to brilliant metallic green, blue, yellow, orange, or red. They commonly feed on flowers, pollen, nectar, and foliage, and many species are important pollinators.