Tailed net-winged beetle | |
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In eastern South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Family: | Lycidae |
Genus: | Lycus |
Species: | L. trabeatus |
Binomial name | |
Lycus trabeatus Guérin-Méneville, 1835 |
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Synonyms | |
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Lycus trabeatus, common name tailed net-winged beetle, is a species of beetle in the Lycidae family, which is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics. They are diurnal, aposomatic insects. Adults feed on various flowers and their nectar, while larvae live under tree bark, in dead wood, or in detritus where they may live on fungi.
It is known to occur in Eritrea, Ethiopia, the DRC, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. It inhabits subtropical forests, savannahs and grasslands.
Lycus trabeatus reaches a length of about 22–31 millimetres (0.87–1.22 in). The pronotum has a black center and orange edges. The elytra are black at their bases, on the apical lobes, and sometimes along the dilated edges. Elytra are variable in shape, from widely expanded with a constriction towards the apical lobe, to intermediate or slender. The black antennae are mildly serrate. Femora are orange and the lower legs are black.
There are two subspecies: