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Jewel beetle
Length:About 3-77m.

Jewel Beetle

Buprestidae

Description:
In Thailand there are over 300 different species of jewel beetles with a huge variation in color, ranging from bright metallic blue and green to black with small colored spots. The body is bullet­shaped and has 2 pairs of wings. Jewel beetles are extremely good flyers and can fly up to 50 km in a single day. These insects can range from 3 to 10 cm in size. The iridescence common to these beetles is not due to pigments in the skeleton, but instead due to a microscopic texture in their cuticle that selectively reflects specific frequencies of light.

Did you know...?

… that the wings of these beetles were once used to create jewelry in Thailand and neighboring countries? In Thailand the beautiful emerald wings of the species Sternocera aequisignata were even used to embroider clothing in court circles. Nowadays collectors still pay a lot of money for these beetles.

Diet:
Jewel beetles are plant eaters and their diet consists of wood, pollen and nectar. They seem to prefer trees that are already stressed, rotting or suffering from a disease.

Reproduction:
Jewel beetles lay their eggs in wood or in soil close to a tree. The white larvae feed from the sap of the tree until they become mature and emerge to the surface.

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