JEWEL BEETLES CAN BE BEAUTIFUL PROBLEMS

Jewel beetles can be a beautiful problem.  These beetles are aptly named as many of them have bright, iridescent colors.  They are so lovely, that they are even the topic of puzzles.  But, beauty is only so deep right?  These beetles are also wood-boring beetles.  The females lay eggs in crevice’s of tree trunks and branches.  These eggs hatch into flattened, legless larvae that leave behind hollowed trails, called “galleries” in the wood as they feed.  Most species in this family (Buprestidae) feed on “unhealthy” trees weakened by fungi, drought, injury, or other insect infestations.  A few attack healthy trees. The adults feed on leaves, pollen, or nectar and can be important pollinators.  Maybe jewel beetles just have a destructive, awkward teen-age (larva) stage?