METALLIC WOOD-BORING BEETLE

also called Jewel Beetle, any member of the family Buprestidae (order Coleoptera), among the most brilliantly coloured insects. Most of the approximately 15,000 species are widely distributed in tropical regions. These beetles are long, narrow, and flat, with a tapering abdomen. The wing covers (elytra) of some species are metallic blue, copper green, or black in colour and are sometimes used in jewelry. The brightly coloured body of other species is hidden by the dull dark wing covers and is exposed only during flight or from a ventral (bottom) view. A predator chasing a metallic-coloured flying beetle may not recognize it as prey when it stops flying and becomes a dull, dark-coloured lump on a branch. Many metallic wood-boring beetle larvae carve out ribbon-shaped tunnels in wood. Chrysobothris attacks trees and shrubs and often seriously damages fruit trees. Some (e.g., Agrilus) cause the formation of a gall in which the larvae live. The small, flat Brachys tunnels through leaves. The white, legless larvae, which resemble tadpoles, are called flatheaded borers because of their shape. The head region is flattened and expanded sideways; the rest of the body is cylindrical and narrow.