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Buprestis aurulenta
This metallic wood-boring beetle has iridescent colors and is 17mm in length.
Spotted in a Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir dominant coniferous forest in eastern Washington.
These beetles are attracted to recently dead or dying trees that have often been impacted by forest fires or struck by lightning. Females will lay their eggs on the bark, with the newly emerged larvae boring into the wood.
Spotted on Jun 3, 2021
Submitted on Jun 4, 2021
2 Comments
Thanks for commenting, Sukanya. I saw several of these flying around. We've had a few major forest fires in the last couple of years that were near this location. So I'm guessing the population of these wood boring beetles has exploded in the region.
Look at them colours...mind boggling.