Mimicry in Cleridae (Coleoptera)

An annotated list of all known examples of mimicry involving members of the family Cleridae arranged according to the system proposed by Corporaal in the Coleopterorum Catalogus is provided. Trends in the evolution of mimicry within clerid genera, groups of genera, and subfamilies are discussed. In general, clerids most frequently mimic other species of Coleoptera (mimicked by species of 31 clerid genera), followed closely by aculeate Hymenoptera (mimicked by species of 24 clerid genera), while zygaenid moths and tachinid flies are mimicked by species of one and two genera of Cleridae, respectively. The coloration patterns employed in the latter two mimetic complexes are hypothesized to have evolved through exaptation of coloration patterns used in other mimetic interactions and in cryptic camouflage. The relation of mimicry in Cleridae to clerid biology and the use of characters evolved through mimetic interactions in reconstruction of phylogenies of groups within the family Cleridae are discussed.