Temognatha heros

Temognatha heros, the Yellow Jewel Beetle or Large Jewel Beetle, is a species of beetles belonging to the family Buprestidae.

Temognatha heros
Temognatha heros. Museum specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Buprestidae
Genus:
Temognatha
Species:
T. heros
Binomial name
Temognatha heros
Géhin, 1855 [1]

Description

Temognatha heros can reach a length of about 60–80 millimetres (2.4–3.1 in).[2] It is the biggest within the genus Temognatha.[3] The basic body colour is yellowish-orange, while pronotum is dark reddish. Elytra are punctato-striate. Legs show a metallic blue color.

The adults are florivore and feed on the flowers of various trees and shrubs (especially Eucalyptus leptophylla,[4] Eucalyptus foecunda, Melaleuca pauperiflora and Melaleuca uncinata.[5]

Larvae are wood-borers of Casuarina species, Eucalyptus gracilis, Eucalyptus oleosa, Eucalyptus foecunda and Melaleuca uncinata.[5]

Distribution

This species is present in South and Western Australia (New South Wales and Victoria).[2][6] These beetles can be found in drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones.[7]

References
  1. Biolib
  2. Esperance Wildlife
  3. Virtual beetle
  4. Ipernity
  5. A summary of the published data on host plants of Australia jewel beetles
  6. GBIF
  7. Australian Biological Resources Study - Australian Faunal Directory


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