Family
Cantharidae (Soldier beetles)
Cyrtomoptera divisa. Photo: (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY)
The soldier beetles (Cantharidae) are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. One of the first described species has a color pattern reminiscent of the red coats of early British soldiers, hence the common name. They are also known commonly as leatherwings because of their soft elytra.
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