#lycidae

Trilobite Beetle (Platerodrilus svetae), female, family Lycidae, Sabah, Borneo

Bug of the Occasional Day

The world of entomology has been shaken by a recent discovery: a beetle without wings! Xenomorphon baranowskii is a small beetle found in Oaxaca, Mexico, is the only species of beetle where wings and their hard coverings (elytra) are absent in both males and females; among beetles, wings are particularly important for seeking out mates, so their absence in X. baranowskii is truly one of a kind.

(Image: A museum specimen of Xenomorphon baranowskii by Ferriera et al. 2023)

A female trilobite beetle (Platerodrilus sp.) in Malaysia

@have-a-good-mourning submitted: Sweet little one found in rural Appalachia a while back. Could this be a netwinged beetle?

Benibotarus alternatus is a vividly red lycid with the family's trademark fun texture on its elytra. this is a fairly rare and seemingly red listed endemic species that i know almost nothing about, but something around here seems to enable a relatively healthy population of them, judging by how i consistently see a few every year. this one is getting its antennae rocked by the cursed spring winds