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Hycleus

Genus of beetles

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
2 min read
Source updated July 26, 2026
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Hycleus is a genus of blister beetle belonging to the Meloidae family found in Africa and Asia. The genus contains over 400 species, which historically have been confused with the genus Mylabris.

01Ecology

Adults feed mainly on flowers from a wide range of plant families. The first larval instar is an active triungulin form that is a predator of soft insects such as aphids. While the young are often beneficial to crops by suppressing other plant feeders, the adults can be a problem when present in large numbers. Flower feeding leads to lower yield and this can be a problem in some leguminous crops. They are however easily controlled by manual collection.

In northern Nigeria, heavy infestations of Hycleus terminatus, Hycleus fimbriatus, Hycleus hermanniae, and Hycleus chevrolati have affected early plantings of pearl millet crops.

Hycleus thunbergi
Hycleus thunbergi

02Partial list of species

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Hycleus”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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