Temognatha heros

Temognatha heros
Museum specimen
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Elateriformia
Family:	Buprestidae
Genus:	Temognatha
Species:	T. heros
Binomial name
Temognatha heros Géhin, 1855 [1]

Temognatha heros, the yellow jewel beetle or large jewel beetle, is a species of beetles belonging to the family Buprestidae.

Description

Temognatha heros can reach a length of about 60–80 millimetres (2.4–3.1 in).[2] It is the biggest within the genus Temognatha.[3] The basic body colour is yellowish-orange, while pronotum is dark reddish. Elytra are punctato-striate. Legs show a metallic blue color.

The adults feed on the flowers of various trees and shrubs (especially Eucalyptus leptophylla,[4] Eucalyptus foecunda, Melaleuca pauperiflora and Melaleuca uncinata.[5]

Larvae are wood-borers of Casuarina species, Eucalyptus gracilis, Eucalyptus oleosa, Eucalyptus foecunda and Melaleuca uncinata.[5]

Distribution

This species is present in South and Western Australia (New South Wales and Victoria).[2][6] These beetles can be found in drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones.[7]

References

1. Biolib
2. Esperance Wildlife
3. Virtual beetle
4. Ipernity
5. A summary of the published data on host plants of Australia jewel beetles
6. GBIF
7. Australian Biological Resources Study - Australian Faunal Directory