Sternocera hildebrandti

Sternocera hildebrandti
Jewel Beetle (Sternocera hildebrandti)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Buprestidae
Genus:	Sternocera
Species:	S. hildebrandti
Binomial name
Sternocera hildebrandti Harold, 1878

Sternocera hildebrandti is a species of beetles belonging to the Buprestidae family.[1] The elytra of the brown to red brown jewel beetles show a medium reflectance in the near-infrared.[2] The elytra are very hard and have been used by the Wataita as clattering earrings for special ceremonies.[3][4][5] The species was named in honor of Johann Maria Hildebrandt by his father.[6]

Distribution

This species can be found in East Africa from Ethiopia to the south of Tanzania for example in akazia trees.[7]

References

1. Gussmann, Sibylle; Holm, Erik (2004). The African Jewel Beetles: (Buprestidae: Julodinae). Taita Publishers. ISBN 978-80-902734-5-0.
2. Mielewczik, Michael; Liebisch, Frank; Walter, Achim; Greven, Hartmut (2012). "Near-Infrared (NIR)-Reflectance in Insects – Phenetic Studies of 181 Species". Entomologie Heute. 23: 183–215.
3. Hildebrandt, J.M. (1879). "XV. Von Mombassa nach Kitui". Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin. 14: 321–350.
4. Hildebrandt, J.M. (1878). "Ethnographische Notizen über Wakámba und ihre Nachbaren". Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. 10: 347–406.
5. van Huis, Arnold (2021). "Cultural Significance of Beetles in Sub-Saharan Africa". Insects. 12 (4): 368. doi:10.3390/insects12040368. ISSN 2075-4450. PMC 8074302. PMID 33924136.
6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2009-11-18). The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9533-3.
7. Gerstaecker, A. (1884). Bestimmung der von Dr. G. A. Fischer während seiner Reise nach dem Massai-Land gesammelten Coleopteren. Aus dem Jahresbuch der wissenschaftlichen Anstalten zu Hamburg für 1883. Hamburg. p. 51.