''Mormolyce phyllodes'', commonly known as the violin beetle, is a species of

ground beetle Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it ...

s in the subfamily

Lebiinae Lebiinae is a subfamily of ground beetles in the family Carabidae Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 ...

. It is native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Subspecies

The species may be divided into the following subspecies:Biolib
/ref> * ''Mormolyce phyllodes borneensis'' Gestro, 1875 * ''Mormolyce phyllodes engeli'' Lieftinck & Wiebes, 1968 * ''Mormolyce phyllodes phyllodes'' Hagenbach, 1825

Description

''Mormolyce phyllodes'' can reach a length of . These beetles possess a flat leaf-shaped, shiny black or brown body with distinctive violin-shaped translucent

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

(hence the common name). This characteristic

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...

protects them against predators, while their flat shaped body allow them to dwell in soil cracks or under the bark and leaves of trees. Head and pronotum are very elongated, with long antennae and the legs are long and slender.Virtyal Zoo
/ref> The habits of Mormolyce are not yet very clear, but from the few existing studies it has been determined that their larval habits are completely different from most other

Carabidae Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal ...

: their larvae live in huge (20 to 30 cm wide, or even larger) and very hard bracket fungi, in which they excavate channels. They pupate in the fungi too. After emergence, they create an "unbelievable small" hole (even narrower than their own bodies) to escape from their larval chambers, making it incredible to understand how they get out, even "allowing for the softness of its tissues". Their adults - like other Carabidae - are

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

. For defense purposes, they secrete poisonous

butyric acid Butyric acid (; from , meaning "butter"), also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula . It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. Isobutyric acid (2-met ...

. The larvae live in layers of

bracket fungi Polypores, also called bracket or shelf fungi, are a morphological group of basidiomycete-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi that form large fruiting bodies called conks, which are typically woody, circular, shelf- or bracket-shaped, w ...

, genus ''

Polyporus ''Polyporus'' is a genus of poroid fungi in the family Polyporaceae. Taxonomy Italian botanist Pier Antonio Micheli introduced the genus in 1729 to include 14 species featuring fruit bodies with centrally-placed stipes, and pores on the unders ...

''. Their development lasts 8–9 months, while pupation lasts 8–10 weeks. Adults fly from August to November.

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in rainforests of Southeast Asia (

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

References

Lebiinae Insects of Brunei Beetles of Indonesia Beetles of Malaysia Beetles described in 1825 {{Lebiinae-stub