The Lycidae are a family in the beetle order Coleoptera, members of which are commonly called net-winged beetles. These beetles are cosmopolitan, being found in Nearctic, Palearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian ecoregions.[1]
Beetles of this family are elongated and usually found on flowers or stems. Adult males are about 10–15 mm in length, while females are a bit larger. The adults of some species are nectarivores, while some may have short adult lives during which they may not feed at all. The head is triangular and the antennae are long, thick, and serrated. Most of them are brick-red in colour. They are protected from predators by being toxic. The predaceous larvae grow under bark or in leaf litter.
Selected genera
These following genera belong to the family Lycidae:
^Lawrence, J.F., Hastings, A.M., Dallwitz, M.J., Paine, T.A., and Zurcher, E.J. 2000 onwards. Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval for families and subfamilies. Version: 9 October 2005 [1]
^Kubecek, Vaclav; Bray, Timothy C.; Bocak, Ladislav (2015). "Molecular phylogeny of Metanoeina net-winged beetles identifies Ochinoeus, a new genus from China and Laos (Coleoptera: Lycidae)". Zootaxa. 3955 (1): 113–122. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3955.1.6. PMID25947840.
^"Lycidae Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
