insects, they make little attempt to hide, and so they

can often be found sitting on leaves or flying across

forest paths during daylight hours.

One group of erotylids, the subfamily

Languriinae, which are also known as lizard

beetles, were for many years classified as a different

family because their appearance and behavior is

quite different from the majority of other erotylids.

cucujoids that pollinated cycads during the

Jurassic. Many people call the Mesozoic

Era the “Age of the Dinosaurs,” but to many

botanists, it is the “Age of the Cycads”

The larvae bore in the stems of living plants, and

the long, slender adults usually feed on leaves. Like

their relatives, the lizard beetles also often display

bright warning colors. Both the typical pleasing

fungus beetles and the lizard beetles can also be

found in temperate environments, especially in

fungi and decaying wood, but in smaller numbers

than in the tropics.

right | Ellipticus spinifer This South

American fungus beetle resembles a

thorn, and is often found clustered on

thorny vines hanging in the rainforest.

left | Languriinae

Members of this

long, narrow-

bodied subfamily

are mostly stem

borers as larvae,

while the adults

feed on leaves.