Buprestidae
family of beetles
Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy, iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some 15,500 species known in 775 genera. In addition, almost 100 fossil species have been described.
The larger and more spectacularly colored jewel beetles are highly prized by insect collectors. The elytra of some Buprestidae species have been traditionally used in beetlewing jewellery and decoration in certain countries such as India, Thailand, and Japan.
Description and ecology
Shape is generally cylindrical or elongated to ovoid, with lengths ranging from 3 to 80 mm (0.12 to 3.15 in), although most species are under 20 mm (0.79 in). Catoxantha, Chrysaspis, Euchroma, and Megaloxantha contain the largest species. A variety of bright colors is known, often in complicated patterns. The iridescence common to these beetles is not due to pigments in the exoskeleton, but instead is caused by structural coloration, in which microscopic texture in their cuticle selectively reflects specific frequencies of light in particular directions.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q503892. The Library of Congress control number is sh85018029. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Buprestidae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.