[5] These beetles possess a flat leaf-shaped, shiny black or brown body with distinctive violin-shaped translucent elytra (hence the common name).

This characteristic mimicry protects them against predators, while their flat shaped body allow them to dwell in soil cracks or under the bark and leaves of trees.

[5][6] The habits of Mormolyce are not yet very clear, but from the few existing studies it has been determined that their larval habits are completely different from most other Carabidae: their larvae live in huge (20 to 30 cm wide, or even larger) and very hard bracket fungi, in which they excavate channels.

After emergence, they create an "unbelievable small" hole (even narrower than their own bodies) to escape from their larval chambers, making it incredible to understand how they get out, even "allowing for the softness of its tissues".

[5] This species can be found in rainforests of Southeast Asia (Brunei, Indonesia, Java, Malaysia and Sumatra).