A pleasing fungus beetle spotted in various rainforests of Ecuador

It’s not often that a scientific name perfectly captures how a photographer feels looking through the lens, but the family Erotylidae is an exception. Their common name comes from the Latin erotylus, meaning “pleasing” or “delightful”—a nod to their gorgeous, bright color patterns. This striking little beauty is Iphiclus quinquefasciatus, a pleasing fungus beetle native to the neotropical rainforests of Ecuador. They are highly specialized, thriving only in pristine, low-altitude rainforest environments along the Amazonian slopes of the Andes, where both adults and larvae depend on decaying wood and very specific bracket fungi for food and shelter. I’ve been lucky enough to photograph this incredible species on two separate expeditions to the Ecuadorian Amazon—first in December 2023, and most recently in August 2025.

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