Buprestid

[phoenixxavierre]

Anyone recognize what species of Buprestid this is? I was only able to find one picture on the net of this one, but it had no scientific name by it!

TIA,

Paul

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Okay that was the belly! lol! In sunlight it shows up as a bronze color! Here's the dorsal side of the beetle.

Take care,

Paul

 

[Wade]

It looks like a pine borer, Chalcophora sp. There's a pic in the Audubon Insect Guide that looks just like that guy, C. angulicollis, the western pine borer. If you found it in NC, it might be the Virginia pine borer, C. virginiensis. I've found them around here in Richmond from time to time. Amazing metallic sheen to them!

Wade

 

[phoenixxavierre]

That's the one!

Hey Wade,

Thanks! That's definitely the one! I found her crawling on a trailer we were looking at which was right beside a bunch of pine trees, so it definitely makes sense. I'm not real sure what to do with her other than place her into a container with pine wood. I would like her to lay some larvae, but I'm not even sure how to tell males from females! This one is very active, crawling in circles in the deli cup I have it in. Very pretty beetle! The first beetle I've actually taken a liking to! Though some of the dung beetles and scarabs are quite beautiful as well! (not to mention the south american beetles).

Thanks again, Wade!

Take care,

Paul