Beetle larvae trick bees into feeding and sheltering them by smelling like flowers, study finds
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European Black oil beetle larva lures unsuspecting bees by manufacturing smells that mimic floral scents, new research suggests. The larva then hitches a ride on the bee to its burrow, where it eats the bee’s eggs and pollen, and develops into an adult beetle. This is the first known instance of an animal hijacking the smell of a flower to lure another animal to parasitize it, the study’s authors say. Larvae of the European black oil beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus) are orange and gather on the tips
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