Golden Buprestid Beetle

This image is part of the feature Amazing Beetles

Credit: Stuart Wilson/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Caption: Golden Buprestid beetle (Buprestis aurulenta), Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, California. The larvae of this beetle create tunnels under the bark of pine, spruce, fir and occasionally western red cedar trees. Adults usually oviposit on bark of dead or dying trees. They are especially fond of trees which have been lightning-struck, fire scorched, or recently felled. The adults live 3 to 5 months. Larvae have been known to take 40 years to complete their development in structural timbers. These beetles are found throughout western North America, from southern B.C. southward to Mexico.

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Keywords: arthropod, beetle, buprestidae, buprestis, buprestis aurulenta, buprestoidea, california wildlife, coleoptera, colorful, cypriacis, golden buprestid, insect, iridescent, long life, long lived, north america, north american, polyphaga, wood borer, wood boring

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