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This creature has suddenly appeared on my potato plants after a hard rain Monday night and a light rain last night. It's only on the potatoes and only on one patch of them. It doesn't appear to be doing any damage, yet, but... And there's lots of them. I tried blasting them off with water with no success. Thanks for any help!
Kathy
These are blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae); likely Epicauta pardalis - see http://tinyurl.com/kkwtva for an image. These beetles contain a chemical called cantharidin that they reflexively 'bleed' from their joints when disturbed. Cantharidin can cause blisters on tender skin, and is very toxic to horses when ingested - see http://tinyurl.com/n86am9
