Euderces velutinus is a Long-horned beetle native to Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

. It is a good ant mimic

Ant mimicry

Ant mimicry is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and insect predators that rely on vision to identify their prey such as birds and wasps normally avoid them, either because they are unpalatable, or aggressive. Thus some other arthropods mimic ants to escape...

 of the conspicuous species Camponotus sericeiventris.

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.

See also

• Myrmecotypus
  Myrmecotypus
  Myrmecotypus is a spider genus that mimics ants. All species occur from Panama to Mexico, with one species found in the USA.M. rettenmeyeri has a strange longitudinal band of black hairs extending along the midline of the cephalothorax. This seems to enhance the resemblance to the ant Camponotus...
  
  — a spider genus with one species also mimicking C. sericeiventris

External links

• Photographs of E. velutinus