Jewel beetle

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Jewel beetle
Jewel beetle from Kerremans Ch. 1903, in Wytsman P. - Genera Insectorum XII.V.

Jewel beetle from Kerremans Ch. 1903, in Wytsman P. - Genera Insectorum XII.V.

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Elateriformia
Superfamily : Buprestoidea
Family : Jewel beetle
Scientific name
Buprestidae
Leach , 1815
Blue pine jewel beetle ( Phaenops cyanea )
Image of the larvae of Agrilus planipennis
Pupae of Agrilus planipennis
Florentine jewel beetle ( Coraebus florentinus )
Hungarian jewel beetle ( Anthaxia hungarica )
Shiny green jewel beetle ( Eurythyrea austriaca )
Hiperantha testacea

Jewel beetles (Buprestidae) are a family of beetles that is particularly widespread in the tropics . With around 15,000 species and 450 genera , they represent one of the eight largest families of beetles.

Overview

Jewel beetles are 2 to 80 millimeters long and often have a colorful, metallic sheen. The head is pulled back deep into the pronotum, the eyes are relatively large, the antennae short and stocky. Their body shape is similar to that of the click beetles (Elateridae), but they lack the jumping apparatus that is typical for them. Because of their dazzling, colorful appearance, jewel beetles are coveted objects for insect collections . Most species contain the bitter substance buprestine (a series of acyl glucosides) against predators in their hemolymph .

The history of the jewel beetles goes back very far. There are known fossils from the Triassic . Many of the species love warmth. That is why they are represented in Central Europe with only about 100 species and live mainly in heat-favored regions and habitats. A large proportion of the species native to our part of the world are either extinct or endangered. This is not only due to the destruction of their habitats, but z. B. also on their popularity with collectors, on mass deaths by attracting inadequate sources of stimulus u. Ä.

Both larvae and adults are phytophagous (herbivorous). They feed on the wood , the bark or the leaves of their host plants. The larvae drill meandering, widening tunnels that are filled with the drill dust. They have a very large head in relation to the narrow and long legless body, which is actually the greatly broadened prothorax to which the small head is attached in front.

The beetles feed on pollen , flower petals (especially yellow flowers) and foliage or needles . Some species are considered pests because of their destructive effects on trees and plants .

The jewel beetles have a complicated family structure with several subfamilies and numerous genera, which illustrates the different independent development. The species-richest genera of the jewel beetle family are Agrilus (with around 3000 species at the same time the largest genus in the animal kingdom) and Chrysobothris , which can be found all over the world, Anthaxia and Acmaeodera , which occur everywhere except Australia , and Sphenoptera , which has more than 1100 Species living in the Palearctic , tropical Africa and the Orient .

Taxonomy and types (selection)

Preparation from Sternocera hildebrandti

literature

fossil jewel beetle
  • Svatopulk Bílý: Summary of the bionomy of the Buprestid beetles of Central Europe (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). in: Acta entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae. Supplement. Vol. 10. Národní Muzeum, Prague 2002.
  • CL Bellamy: An illustrated Summary of the Higher Classification of the Superfamily Buprestoidea (Coleoptera) . in: Folia Heyrovskyana. Suppl. Vol. 10. Praha 2003.
  • Manfred Niehuis : The jewel beetles in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland . Society for Nature Conservation and Ornithology Rhineland-Palatinate, Landau 2004. ISBN 3-937783-04-0
  • Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung, Jarmila Hoberlandtova, Ivan Zpevak: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe. Parey, Berlin 1985. ISBN 3-490-27118-1
  • Fritz Brechtel, Hans Kostenbader (ed.): The splendor and stag beetles of Baden-Württemberg. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2002. ISBN 3-8001-3526-4

Web links

Commons : Jewel beetles  - Collection of images, videos and audio files