Information: Meloe violaceus, described by Marsham in 1802 probably from Englan.
Upper side blue, rarely black-blue. Head and pronotum finely and sparsely punctured, the surface between the punctures very finely chagrined, therefore matte. Males of the M. proscarabaeus and M. violaceus have a distinct kink in their antennae and the antennal segments are very broad at the kink. The females have slightly kinked antennae with all segments about the same width.
Body length: 10 - 40 mm
Peak activity: March - July - September
Remarks: More widespread and common in mountainous areas than Meloe proscarabaeus. In lowlands, it is found everywhere—more frequently than M. proscarabaeus in some regions, while in others it occurs only sporadically and rarely. It lives at an elevation range of 200-4000 meters.
A generally cryophilous species, in Europe it occurs between 900 and 2500 meters above sea level. The adults are polyphagous phytophages and show preferences for Ranunculaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae. The activity period is from June to September in high mountain areas, and from April to May at lower elevations.
Distribution: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Andorra, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kashmir (India), Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Netherlands, Macedonia, Morocco, Moldova, Norway, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Zoogeographic region: Palearctic
Taxonomic classification:
Meloe violaceus Marsham, 1802 x Meloe proscarabaeus Linnaeus, 1758
Material examined (& observation):
Czech Republic 
North Bohemia | Liberecký Region
Jizera Mountains Protected Landscape Area (CHKO Jizerské hory)
Jizera Mount ~ "Knajpa"
(GPS) 
Altitude 970 m a.s.l. | 2.7.2013
Our observation period: May ~ July
Sampling Methods: in grassy vegetation 
Czechia
