Net-winged Beetles

Description:

Upon first glance, this beetle appears to have four sets of wings rather than two. However, the second pair of wings (in the middle) actually belong to the male, who is much smaller than the female. He's so well camouflaged and dwarfed by his mate's larger size that all we can see of him is part of his elytra and his antennae. The female was approximately 13mm, and both sexes had aposematic coloration consisting of a black and orange pattern with ridged elytra.

Habitat:

Spotted on vegetation beside a river in a deciduous forest.

Notes:

Female beetles of this species can mate multiple times. Each time they mate, their eggs get fertilized and any extra sperm gets stored within their bodies for future use. As their aposematic coloration suggests, Calopteron beetles have chemical defenses. They produce toxic phenols and foul-smelling pyrazines to deter predators. Also, the ridges on their elytra are brittle and rupture easily, which releases their defensive chemicals. If that's not enough to deter a predator, they can reflex-bleed from their leg joints when attacked!