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FLAT-HEADED JEWEL BEETLES

BUPRESTIDAE: AGRILINAE

T

he jewel beetles, also called metallic wood-

boring beetles (family Buprestidae), number

more than 14,500 species worldwide. Almost all

buprestids have short-lived, brightly colored, and

actively flying adults, and larvae that develop inside

wood, usually on living trees, leaving sinuous

burrows beneath the bark. Larvae of some genera

mine in leaves, feeding on the living tissue between

the cuticles, and leaving behind a characteristic

serpentine-shaped tunnel of dead leaf tissue stuffed

with droppings. A few large species have larvae that

develop in the soil, feeding on plant roots. Most

buprestids are found in the tropics and subtropics,

and only a few species extend into northern and

southern latitudes.

The subfamily Agrilinae, called flat-headed

jewel beetles, is one of the largest subfamilies, and

very widespread and taxonomically diverse. It

includes most of the leaf miners, genera such

as Trachys, Brachys, and Habroloma. Among the

living-wood feeders is the genus Agrilus, which has

over 2,900 named species, making it a contender to

be the biggest genus in the animal kingdom. Agrilus

are small, iridescent, bullet-shaped beetles, and the

BUPRESTIDAE: AGRILINAE

subfamily

Agrilinae

known species

7,200

distribution

Worldwide, most abundant in the tropics

and subtropics. Many species in tropical

Asia, Africa, northern Australia, and South

and Central America, with fewer in Europe

and North America

habitat

Wherever host plants grow, especially warm

areas. Some species are found in arid

habitats, others in rainforests

size

2–22 mm

diet

Larvae are either wood or stem feeders, or

leaf miners. Adults of many species hardly

eat at all during their short adult life, but may

nibble leaves or flowers