ENY 3005 Family Identification
Coleoptera: Buprestidae
Pronunciation: boo-PRESS-te-dee
Common names: metallic wood-boring beetles, jewel beetles,
flatheaded borers
Buprestis lineata Fabricius, a wood borer in pines throughout eastern North America.
Identifying characteristics for the family Buprestidae include:
-
First abdominal sternite entire, not divided by hind coxae (suborder
Polyphaga).
-
Hard bodied, elongate-slender to elongate-robust beetles, ranging from
2 to 40 mm in length.
-
Many species metallic or bronzed in appearance, especially on the
ventral surface.
-
Antennae usually short and sawtoothed.
-
Tarsi 5-5-5.
Buprestids are similar to the Elateridae, but without the click mechanism
or sharp points at the posterior corners of the pronotum. Larvae, called
"flatheaded borers" owing to their flat, broad thorax, live in bark, wood,
roots, and leaves of various plants. There are over 700 species in North
America, about 130 species in Florida.
Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) sp. Images courtesy of David T. Almquist, Microimaginings.com
References:
-
Pages 169-170 and plate 5 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field
Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
-
Pages 165-171 in R. E. White. 1983. A Field Guide to Beetles of North America.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 368 p.
-
Page 426 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An
Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College
Publishing. 875 p.
-
Page 470 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction
to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
-
Page 203 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects,
3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
Links to other Coleoptera taxa: Cicindelidae,
Carabidae, Dytiscidae,
Gyrinidae, Hydrophilidae,
Silphidae, Staphylinidae,
Cantharidae, Lampyridae,
Elateridae, Buprestidae,
Coccinellidae, Meloidae,
Tenebrionidae, Passalidae,
Scarabaeidae, Cerambycidae,
Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae.
Links to other web sites
- Florida Chalcophora - Pictures and a key for identifying the 2 species of Chalcophora that occur in Florida.
Return to ENY 3005 Index to Orders
Prepared by John L. Foltz,
University of Florida, Dept of Entomology & Nematology, 12 Oct 1998.
Modified 18 November 2004.