Corn Beetle ? - Lycus fernandezi

Moved

… Daniel P Duran, 4 February, 2008 - 8:29pm

Moved

… Daniel P Duran, 4 February, 2008 - 7:21pm

Lycus arizonensis

They don't feed on corn leaves, but probably feed on nectar as adults. The larvae aren't feeding on the leaves either... the fact that it was on a corn leaf is probably because it just happened to have landed there when you saw it.

Good observation that it looks like a cross between a moth and a beetle. Many lycids appear to mimic Arctiid moths (which are really, really toxic) and the lycids themselves are often toxic, so it may be a case where both the beetles and the moths benefit from being toxic and looking like each other (referred to as "Mullerian mimicry").

… Daniel P Duran, 4 February, 2008 - 6:58pm

Lucus Beetle - interesting info.

Thanks Daniel. I later found these Lycus breeding in the White Blossom Sweet Clover.
I enjoy learning about these critters!

… Robert L. Pearson, 4 February, 2008 - 9:42pm

Daniel, can you tell us how

it differs from the one in the attached thumbnail which is Id'd as Lycus fernandezi?

… john and jane balaban, 4 February, 2008 - 8:07pm

You are totally right!

My mistake. I knew it was in that same Lycus species group and goofily I dyslexically mixed the two up! L. arizonensis is nearly identical to L. fernandezi except it lacks the "notch" in the apical black spot (and it's typically bigger). This specimen clearly has the notch and I simply confused the two names. I'll correct that now. Thanks for pointing it out!

… Daniel P Duran, 4 February, 2008 - 8:28pm

And thanks for the distinction -

we'll paste it on the info pages. Thanks again.

… john and jane balaban, 4 February, 2008 - 10:04pm

What do you think of

… john and jane balaban, 4 February, 2008 - 6:08pm