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Jewel Beetles - Family Buprestidae
- This page contains information and pictures about Jewel Beetles that we
found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
-
 - Jewel Beetles are active in hot weather and will readily fly in
sunlight.
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- Jewel Beetles can normally be seen feeding nectar on flowers in bush during
a sunny day. Some Jewel Beetles are leaves feeder. They ranged from very small
to very large size. Their body is elongated and flattened. They are brightly
coloured and often have a metallic sheen which make their common name Jewel
Beetles.
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- Most species of Jewel Beetle larvae live in wood, although some of them
live in root and a few are leave miner.
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- Jewel Beetle with circle of eight white dots
  - Cisseis cupripennis or Cisseis leucosticta,
subfamily Agrilinae, body length 12mm
- This small Jewel Beetle can easily be found on young Acacia trees in
Alexandra Hill during mid summer. When disturbed, they dropped and flied away.
The beetle was metallic dark brown to dark green in colour with eight white dots forming a circle
on its back. Their larvae are gall makers.
- Reference:
- 1. Beetles
of Australia - Trevor J Hawkeswood, Angus & Robertson
Publishers, 1987, plate 84.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus
& Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p216.
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- Jewel Beetle with orange and black patterns
  - Castiarina sexplagiata and Castiarina
decemmaculata, subfamily Buprestinae, body length 12mm
- In
Alexandra Hill during early summer, we found a lot of those orange-black Jewel
Beetle feeding on white flowers of tea tree Leptospermum. The patterns
on each beetle are slightly different. Their colours also vary from yellow to
orange. When disturbed, they fly to another branch of tee tree near by.
 -
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- Jewel Beetle with yellow and black patterns
  - Castiarina sp., subfamily Buprestinae, body length 12mm
- On Oct 2004 in White Hill, we found this Jewel Beetle alone on a young gum
tree.
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- Variable Jewel Beetle
 - Themognatha variabilis (Temognatha variabilis ), subfamily Buprestinae, body length
35mm
- We found this beetle in Karawatha Forest on She-oak trees. This is the largest beetle we ever saw.
This Jewel Beetle is very colourful and the colours are highly variable. They
can be yellow to dark red. Some individuals may have red/yellow/green patterns
on wing-covers. We have detail information and many pictures in this page.
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The Food Plant
- Tea-tree
 - Leptospermum sp., Family Myrtaceae
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- Jewel Beetles like to feed on Tea-tree flowers. Wherever there is the
blooming Tea-tree flowers, get closer to have a look. You may find different
species of Jewel Beetles feeding on them.
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- Reference and Link:
- 1. Allen Sundholm's Buprestidae Home Page(We also like to thank Allen Sundholm advised some of the Jewel Beetles'
ID in the page.)
- 2. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 632.
- 3. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus
& Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p216.
- 4. Jewel Beetles of Western Australia - K. Carnaby, Wilga
WA, 1986.
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