With their dazzling colors and intricate patterns, jewel beetles Buprestidae are some of the most visually striking insects on the planet. In this article, we will delve into 14 types of jewel beetles with their unique beauty. Get ready to be captivated by the shimmering world of these remarkable creatures.
Giant jewel beetle (Sternocera orissa)
The first type of jewel beetle on our list is the giant jewel beetle. Unlike its name, this species is not that big. It has a size of about 35 – 45 mm in length. It has greenish-black or bluish-black wing covers with whitish to yellowish spots and markings on them. You can find this beetle in many places, including Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, southern Malawi, Namibia, and Tanzania.
Rainbow jewel beetle (Cyphogastra javanica)
The rainbow jewel beetle has an elongated body, displaying a mesmerizing rainbow effect with a blend of green, purple, blue, and gold hues. With this stunning and colorful appearance, the beetle becomes one of the most beautiful insects globally. This makes them targets for insect art projects or as a collector’s item. The species inhabits in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Brush jewel beetle (Julodis cirrosa)
Compared to other types of jewel beetles, the brush jewel beetle looks unique with its body covered in yellow or orange patches of hair. These patches stand out against its metallic green or blue exoskeleton, making it a visually striking insect. You can find this species mainly in Southern Africa. It lives in different environments like grasslands, savannas, and forests.
Japanese jewel beetle (Chrysochroa fulgidissima)
The Japanese jewel beetle comes from Japan and Korea. It’s famous for its shimmering colors and has been a cherished decoration in Japan for ages. These beetles were even used to adorn the Tamamushi Shrine, a small shrine from Japan’s ancient Asuka Period, nestled within the Hōryū-ji Temple in Nara prefecture.
Their eye-catching wings sport vivid green hues with streaks of purple running along them. But here’s the fascinating part: their color can shift depending on their surroundings. By heating their wings to 200oC or soaking them in bromoform for a month, their original green can transform into shades of blue or red. This color swap happens because of the special porous material that forms the layers of their wings, which reacts to changes in temperature.
Red spotted jewel beetle (Stigmodera cancellata)
The next type of jewel beetle is the red spotted jewel beetle. This species can grow to about 33 millimeters long and has dark greenish wings with six red spots and red edges. Its body is mostly blackish. Surprisingly, the larvae of Stigmodera cancellata live underground for up to an impressive 15 years. This beetle is mostly found in Western Australia.
Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis)
The emerald ash borer is a small beetle. It has dark green, shiny wing covers and a purplish-red body underneath. It’s about 6 – 13 mm long, with a narrow, pointed body and a small notch on its head. The beetle larvae are cream-colored and a bit flat, with two brown pinchers on their rear end.
This beetle is from northeastern Asia and has invaded North America and other places. It mainly attacks ash trees that are already stressed or dying, but even healthy ones can be affected.
During their larval stage, these destructive pests feed on the essential tissues of a plant under its bark, making S-shaped tunnels and eventually encircling the tree, which can cause serious harm.
The emerald ash borer poses a significant threat to various North American ash species, such as black ash, green ash, white ash, and blue ash. This green-shelled jewel beetle has caused nearly $2 billion in damages across the Eastern U.S., devastating entire ash tree ecosystems within 10 years of detection. In Pennsylvania alone, ash forests have already diminished by 12% due to the emerald ash borer.
Bullet jewel beetle (Sternocera aequisignata)
The bullet jewel beetle is a type of wood-boring beetle with a shiny, colorful exoskeleton that can range from green to blue. These beetles are originally from East and Southeast Asia and measure between 30 and 50 millimeters long. The wings of these species are so beautiful that they were used to make jewelry and embroider clothing in royal circles in Thailand and neighboring countries in the past.
Acacia flat-headed jewel beetle (Agrilus australasiae)
The acacia flat-headed jewel beetle is a type of jewel beetle discovered in the Karawatha Forest in Australia, mainly along the Echidna Trail. It has a flat head and is usually about 10mm long. This beetle may look similar to other red-headed Agrilus species because of its color, but you can tell it apart by its slimmer body. This jewel beetle was discovered in forested areas.
Madagascar blue jewel beetle (Polybothris sumptuosa)
As the name suggests, this jewel beetle is native to Moramanga, Madagascar, and is one of the most beautiful insects. It’s famous for its stunning colors, showing off a range of blues and greens, which makes it a favorite among collectors and insect enthusiasts.
The adult beetle is about 35-38 millimeters long and comes in different color variations. These include a shiny metallic blue version Madagascar blue jewel beetle (P. sumptuosa gemma), a dark green to black version (P. sumptuosa sumptuosa), and a dark green version (P. sumptuosa superba).
Golden jewel beetle (Buprestis aurulenta)
The golden jewel beetle lives in the Pacific Northwest, from southern British Columbia to Mexico. They’re easy to spot with their shiny green bodies and orange edges on their wings. Their larvae make their homes inside pine trees and are pretty tough. Usually, it takes these juveniles 2 to 4 years to grow up, but sometimes it can stretch out to 51 years! How fast they grow depends on how good their food is and what the environment is like around them.
In Oregon, people often confuse the golden jewel beetle, a native species, with the emerald ash borer, an invasive species that causes a lot of damage. However, you can tell them apart by their size, shape, and color.
The golden jewel beetle is bigger, usually about a third to a half inch long, with a wider body and a shiny brass-like color underneath. On the other hand, the emerald ash borer is smaller, thinner, and colored in shades from olive to emerald green.
Yellow Jewel Beetle (Temognatha heros)
The Yellow Jewel Beetle, also known as the Large Jewel Beetle, gets its name from its huge size – about 60–80 millimeters long. This size makes it the largest in the Temognatha genus. This species stands out with its vibrant yellow body with dark reddish shell, grooved wings, and shiny blue legs. You can find these beetles in different parts of Australia, especially in New South Wales, especially in places near water like drainage basins, coasts, and by the ocean.
Oak splendor beetle (Agrilus biguttatus)
The oak splendor beetle is originally from Europe, North Africa, and Siberia. It’s known for causing damage to oak trees, which contributes to their decline.
The adult beetle shines in metallic green, sometimes with a hint of black or yellow. They’re not big, only about 8 to 13 mm long, and you can spot them by the white spots on the sides of their wings. As juveniles, they’re creamy white and can grow up to 43 mm long. They even sport little horns on their rear ends.
The oak splendor beetle mainly targets different types of oak trees such as English oak, sessile oak, downy oak, evergreen oak, cork oak, and turkey oak. It also attacks European beech and chestnut trees. This beetle harms the trees by eating the inner bark and the outermost layer of wood. It makes zig-zag tunnels in the wood, encircling the tree, which stops the flow of nutrients, ultimately causing the tree to die. The beetle usually goes after trees that are already stressed. Woodpeckers and parasitoid wasps are natural enemies of these jewel beetle species. If you want to know more about these splendor beetles, you can see its information here.
Bronze birch borer (Agrilus anxius)
The bronze birch borer is another type of jewel beetle. This species is native to North America and is a significant threat to birch trees, especially in warmer regions. It’s similar to the emerald ash borer and often leads to the death of birch trees. Among birch species, river birches can put up the best fight against these beetles, but other American birches aren’t so lucky. European and Asian birches don’t stand a chance against these pests.
The adult bronze birch borers are small, narrow, and have a metallic copper color. They have a size of about 7 and 12mm in length. They come out from their pupal stage under the bark of the birch tree from May to mid-July, depending on the weather.
To become sexually mature, they need to feed on birch leaves almost constantly. Once they’re mature, they mate and lay their eggs in cracks and crevices in the bark of stems or branches. The larvae hatch from the eggs within weeks. They immediately start eating their way into the tree, creating tunnels in the soft inner layers of the bark and causing damage.
Miena jewel beetle (Castiarina insculpta)
The Miena Jewel Beetle is a stunning insect, shining in metallic blue-green hues with yellow spots on its wing covers that taper into sharp spines. You can find it only in Tasmania, Australia, specifically around the Great Lake and Lake Augusta regions on the Central Plateau. It prefers open subalpine woodlands and heath areas above 900 meters.
This beetle has a particular taste, dining exclusively on the asteraceous shrub Ozothamnus hookeri. Sadly, it’s endangered due to various threats like habitat loss from activities like conversion, grazing, and fire. Illegal collecting and climate change also pose significant dangers to its survival.
Western sculptured pine borer (Chalcophora angulicollis)
The western sculptured pine borer lives in dry areas, especially in the western parts of North America. These beetles have a dark brown shell with a shiny gradient. Within the Chalcophora angulicollis species, there are two types: Chalcophora angulicollis angulicollis and Chalcophora angulicollis montana casey.
These pests are a big problem for pine trees and other conifers because their larvae tunnel into the wood, causing damage. The larvae look like white grubs with a wider, flatter middle section that forms a Y-shape. When the adult beetles emerge from their host tree, they leave behind a round exit hole.
Red speckled jewel beetle (Chrysochroa buqueti)
The red speckled jewel beetle is a jewel beetle species that is native to Southeast Asia, found mainly in Malaysia and Thailand. These beetles are famous for their stunning appearance: they have a metallic red head, orange-yellow elytra with bluish-black markings, and a metallic blue body. With this look, they become one of the most beautiful beetles on Earth. These colorful beetle species can grow to be about 40–47 millimeters long.
Giant Metallic Ceiba Borer (Euchroma giganteum)
The giant metallic ceiba borer is a big beetle that lives in Central and South America, and sometimes in parts of North America. Adults have a size of about 5 to 8 cm in length, with a flat, bullet-shaped body. They have shiny purplish-blue bumpy shells and two dark spots near their eyes. To shield themselves from the sun, these insects create a yellow wax. Their larvae can grow up to 15 cm long and stay in the soft wood of trees in the Bombacaceae family.
These beetles like warm areas, up to 1,200 meters high. They walk or fly around tree trunks, visit flowers, and munch on pollen.
Green jewel beetle (Perotis unicolor)
Last but not least, the green jewel beetle. These beetles live in many places like Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Jordan, North Africa, and Western Asia, including Iraq, Israel, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, and Turkey. This iridescent green beetle is easy to spot because its belly is all one shade of green. You can find it hanging out on flowers like Cistus, and its babies munch on oak trees, particularly Quercus ithaburensis in Israel.
