Euderces velutinus

Taxobox
name = "Euderces velutinus"


image_caption =
image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Coleoptera
familia = Cerambycidae
subfamilia = Cerambycinae
tribus = Tillomorphini
genus = "Euderces"
species = "E. velutinus"
binomial = "Euderces velutinus"
binomial_authority = (Fisher, 1931)
range_

range_map_width = 250px
synonyms = "Eplophorus velutinus"

"Euderces velutinus" is a Long-horned beetle native to Central America. It is a good ant mimic of the conspicuous species "Camponotus sericeiventris"Wheeler, William M. (1931): The ant "Camponotus (Myrmepomis) sericeiventris" Guérin and its mimic. Psyche 38: 86-98. [http://antbase.org/ants/publications/3420/3420.pdf PDF] ] .

Description

"E. velutinus" is about 1 cm long and 3 mm wide. The general color is black, with short golden hairs on top, patterned in a ways such that it resembles an ant. The hind legs are shaped ant-like. The beetle's head and prothorax together mimic the ant's head, with a pair of black spots simulating the eyes.

It is very similar to "E. magnus", but is smaller, has a shorter pronotum, and has the entire apical half of the elytra densely clothed with silky, golden yellow pubescence, which helps giving the impression of "C. sericeiventris".Fisher, W.S. (1931): A New Ant-Like Cerambycid Beetle from Honduras. "Psyche" 38: 99-101. [http://psyche2.entclub.org/articles/38/38-099.pdf PDF] ]

Distribution

"E. velutinus" has been found in Guatemala and Honduras.

ee also

* "Myrmecotypus" — a spider genus with one species also mimicking "C. sericeiventris"

References

External links

* [http://insects.oeb.harvard.edu/MCZ/FMPro?-DB=Image.fm&-Lay=web&-Format=images.htm&Species_ID=16384&-Find Photographs of "E. velutinus"]