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Lycid Beetle Mimicry
 - The distasteful Lycid Beetles - family LYCIDAE, model
of the Lycid Beetle mimicry rings.
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- Lycid Beetles are elongated beetles and may be found on flowers or on plant
surfaces. Some species adults are nectar-feeders, some are not feed at all.
Their head is usually triangular in shape. Antennae are medium long and thick.
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- The brick-red and black colours of of Lycid Beetle are a warning to
predators that the beetle is highly toxic and distasteful. Many other insects
including moths, flies,
wasps and other beetles,
mimic its colours. Some of these are also toxic which enhance the warning
signal. But some are not toxic nor distasteful, they simply gain the same
benefit by fraud. This could be the second most popular visual warning signal
in the insects world, next to the yellow and black strips of wasps and bees.
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- Lycid-mimicking
Longicorn Beetle - family CERAMBYCIDAE
 - This Longicorn Beetle mimic the Lycid Beetle, with the typical brick-red
colour on its front wings. The tips of the wings have the black pattern make
the shape the same as Lycid wings.
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- Lycid-mimicking
Soldier Beetle - family CANTHARIDAE
  - This Solder Beetle has its abdomen with black and yellow strips, when fly,
mimics a wasp. Its forewings cover are brick-red in colour, which mimics a
Lycid beetle. Most predators will avoid this two groups of insects. Some
Soldier Beetles are known distasteful too. So the example may be a Mullerian
mimicry. In Mullerian mimicry, both the model and
the mimic are unpalatable and they share warning colors or patterns to
evade predation.
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- Lycid-mimicking
Belid Weevil - family BELIDAE
  - We found this beetle alone on a young Acacia tree. It was slow
moving, did not even fly away when we came very close. It mimics
the Lycid Beetle with the brick-red and black colour.
- Lycid-mimicking
Pollen Beetle
- Family Oedemeridae
 - This beetle look like a Lycid
Beetle but it is in family Oedemeridae. This beetle mimic the
Lycid Beetle to gain some protections.
[ Up ] [ Warnings ] [ Ants Mimicry ] [ Wasps Mimicry ] [ Black Wasps Mimicry ] [ Bees Mimicry ] [ Lycid Mimicry ] [ Jumping Spider Mimicry ] [ Self Mimicry ] [ Bird-dropping Mimicking ] [ Behaviour Mimicry ] [ Threaten Sign ] [ Mimicry in Butterfly ] [ Camouflage Master ] [ Eyes Pattern ]
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