They are a good example of a beetle that follows

a rare resource over huge distances, and they are so

mobile that females laying eggs in burned trees in

Britain may themselves have hatched in France,

Spain, Scandinavia, or even farther afield.

Pliny the Elder used Buprestis 2,000 years

ago for an insect that kills cattle when

consumed, but this should refer to blister

beetles of the family Meloidae (some

Melyridae also do this but they come from

the Americas). It seems that Pliny’s name

was incorrectly applied in subsequent

millennia, which shows the importance

of keeping specimens in museums to link

a name to the species it refers to!

above | Chrysobothris caddo perfectly

camouflaged against the trunk of

a fallen, dead hackberry tree in

North America.

right | Belionota tricolor from

Indonesia looks like it has been

dipped in molten metal. The

varying color breaks up its outline.