Diet

• Adults: Primarily predatory, feeding on small insects, aphids, mites and other soft-bodied arthropods. Some adults may also visit flowers for nectar and pollen.

• Larvae: Predatory, living in leaf litter, soil, decaying vegetation and beneath bark, where they hunt small invertebrates.

• Their predatory habits make them useful members of the insect community, particularly where small herbivorous insects are abundant.

Range

• Tytthonyxini is a tribe of soldier beetles (Cantharidae) occurring primarily in the New World, with its greatest diversity in tropical and subtropical regions.

• The tribe occurs in Guerrero, and suitable habitat is present around Zihuatanejo.

• It is occasionally sighted in Zihua, particularly during the rainy season, when flowering vegetation and small insect prey become abundant.

Habitat

• Found in tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, woodland, scrub, forest edges and secondary vegetation.

• Adults are often found on flowers, foliage and grasses, where they hunt small insects or feed on nectar and pollen.

• Around Zihua, check flowering shrubs and trees, low vegetation and vegetation along forest edges, especially during humid weather.

• Larvae are more difficult to find and occur in leaf litter, soil and decomposing organic material.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 4–12 mm (0.16–0.47 in), depending on species.

• Body generally elongate and soft-bodied, with relatively long legs and antennae.

• Colouration commonly includes combinations of black, brown, yellow, orange or reddish markings.

• Some species have contrasting patterns that can make them superficially resemble other chemically protected insects.