Lycid-mimicry
Guides
Elytroleptus divisus
Elytroleptus divisus is a longhorned beetle species in the family Cerambycidae, originally described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1884. The species was previously known as Elytroleptus dichromaticus until that name was synonymized with E. divisus in a 2013 taxonomic revision. The species exhibits intraspecific polychromatic variation in coloration. Like other members of its genus, E. divisus is a lycid beetle mimic, displaying orange and black coloration that resembles the aposematic warning coloration of distasteful net-winged beetles (family Lycidae). The genus Elytroleptus is distributed throughout the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America, with most species occurring in arid and semi-arid regions.
Lycochoriolaus
Lycochoriolaus is a genus of longhorn beetles (family Cerambycidae, subfamily Lepturinae) described by Linsley & Chemsak in 1976. The genus contains approximately 11 species distributed primarily in the Americas. One species, L. lateralis, has been documented in Florida, where it exhibits lycid beetle mimicry—an apparent case of Batesian or Müllerian mimicry involving distasteful lycid beetles (family Lycidae). The beetles are not skittish and can be handled easily, likely due to their protective mimicry. The genus is classified within the tribe Lepturini, a group of flower-visiting and foliage-associated cerambycids.