The awesome variety of organisms using disguises to bypass harmful interactions readily reminds us that Darwin's "struggle for life" concept does not necessarily mean belligerence. Rather than engaging in open contests, these organisms negotiate their eco-evolutionary success copying animate or inanimate "models," thereby concealing themselves from, or deceiving, their potential contenders. The dupes are thence expected to develop ways to unmask their disguising counterparts (the "mimics") and that would set a disguisedetection arms race.The absence of overt hostility, however, does not rule out costs. Among these costs, one can be frequently overlooked:excess resemblance to the model may compromise intraspecific recognition for the mimic. Mimics could hence experience reduced fitness if their transparency affects mate encounters. This sounds particularly problematic for the interlopers of social insects who mimic hosts while obligatorily living and mating within the host nest. In such cases, the host functions as both a model and a dupe, convoluting arms races. Mimics, in their turn, face the need to recurrently balance social integration with the preservation of their own identity.Striking cases are provided by Staphylinidae beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) closely resembling their ant and termite hosts (Howard et al., 1980;Maruyama & Parker, 2017). Among these, Corotoca spp. (Aleocharinae: Corotocini) are outstanding in morpho-chemical congruence to their termite hosts (Constrictotermes cyphergaster; Blattaria: Isoptera: Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) and their