Buprestidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Buprestidae | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Buprestis octoguttata, Germany
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Agrilinae |
Buprestidae is a family of beetles, known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some 15,000 species known in 450 genera. The larger and more spectacularly colored jewel beetles are highly prized by insect collectors.
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[edit] Description
Shape is generally cylindrical or elongate to ovoid, with lengths ranging from 3 mm to an impressive 100 mm, although most species are under 20 mm. A variety of bright colors are known, often in complicated patterns. The iridescence common to these beetles is not due to pigments in the exoskeleton, but instead physical iridescence in which microscopic texture in their cuticle selectively reflects specific frequencies of light in particular directions. This is the same effect that makes a compact disc reflect multiple colors.
The larvae bore through roots, logs, stems, and leaves of various types of plants, ranging from trees to grasses. The wood boring types generally favor dying or dead branches on otherwise-healthy trees, while a few types attack green wood; some of these are serious pests capable of killing trees and causing major economic damage.
[edit] Systematics
Classification is not yet well-established, although there appear to be five or six main lineages, which may be considered subfamilies, possibly with one or two being raised to families in their own right, while other systems define up to 14 subfamilies. Subfamilies, with some representative genera and species, are:
- Agrilinae – cosmopolitan, with most taxa occurring in the northern hemisphere
- Buprestinae – cosmopolitan
- Buprestis octoguttata
- Calodema – found only in Australia and New Guinea, usually in rain forests
- Castiarina – about 500 species, found only in Australia and New Guinea, previously considered a subgenus of Stigmodera
- Metaxymorpha – found only in Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia. Usually in rain forests.
- Stigmodera – 7 species remain here
- Temognatha – About 83-85 species, found only in Australia and New Guinea, previously considered a subgenus of Stigmodera
- Temognatha alternata
- Chrysochroinae
- Chrysochroa – found across Southeast Asia; two species native to Japan and one to Africa
- Chrysochroa fulgidissima – Tamamushi
- Lampropepla rotschildi
- Galbellinae
- Galbella
- Julodinae
- Julodis ehrenbergii
- Polycestinae
- Acmaeodera
[edit] Gallery
 Acmaeodera species |
 Julodis ehrenbergii from Greece |
 Lampropepla rotschildi from Madagascar |
 Temognatha alternata (2.6cm long). Cooktown, Australia. |
 A buprestid from India |
 A buprestid from Pune (India) |
 A buprestid from Atherton, Queensland (Australia) |
 Some buprestids from Genera Insectorum |
[edit] References
- Bellamy, C.L. & Nelson, G.H. (2002): Buprestidae. In: {{aut| Arnett, Ross H. Jr. & Thomas, Michael C.: American Beetles (Volume 2). CRC Press.
[edit] External links
