Metallic Wood-Boring Beetle

This brilliantly colored insect is a species of metallic wood-boring beetles of the taxonomic family Buprestidae. It is long, narrow, and flat, with a tapering abdomen. The wing covers (elytra) of some species are shiny, often metallic blue or green or bronzed. The underside of many a metallic wood-boring beetle (also called jewel beetles) is almost always metallic or bronzed. This radiant coloration is the reason that it is woven into fabric in Thailand and used in jewelry as broaches.

Buprestidae is one of the families of beetles that have species that bore into wood, leaving behind a gallery of tunnels. Buprestidae larvae, often called flat-headed borers, bore under bark, in wood, roots, or leaves in living, dying, or dead plants. As adults, many metallic wood-boring beetles feed on bark and foliage, and some are attracted to the nectar of flowers.

There are about 15,000 species of Buprestidae worldwide, with most occurring in the tropics. More than 700 species are found in North America.

Today's photo and information is by WPC's Outreach Assistant at the Sideling Hill Creek Center Mandy Smith.

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