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Project Noah Nature School
Stigmodera roei
This small beetle has deeply pitted elytra and six red spots on its back. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/633...
This specimen is dead. It was collected many years ago in Perth, Western Australia and given to me.
This small group of jewel beetles is endemic to Australia, particularly Western Australia where larvae feed on roots of low shrubs and adults emerge with perfect timing to coincide with flowering season of the prolific wildflowers.
Spotted on May 13, 2014
Submitted on May 13, 2014
5 Comments
Yes you can easily see why they are called jewels.
That's amazing for the colours to be looking so fresh after so many years martin.
These colors are produced by refraction of light and not by pigmentation. These specimens are 20 years old and will never fade.
That is not the case for all beetles such as Paropsisterna which fade rapidly.
The colours hold up well.. unlike moths.
These are in the family Buprestidae.
Did you know that Buprest in Latin means "beetle" .