Buprestidae

Buprestidae, commonly known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles, is a large family of beetles in the order Coleoptera. The group contains thousands of described species worldwide, with the greatest diversity in tropical regions. Adults are often strikingly colored and iridescent, a result of microscopic structural coloration.

Most species have elongated, flattened bodies with tapered or rounded ends. The elytra are frequently metallic green, blue, bronze, or gold, sometimes with patterns or sculpturing. Antennae are relatively short. Size ranges from a few millimeters to several centimeters.

Larvae are wood-borers, commonly called flatheaded borers. They develop in living trees, dying wood, or stressed hosts, feeding on xylem and phloem and creating tunnel galleries. The life cycle is holometabolous, with eggs laid on host plants, larvae lasting months to years, and pupation inside the wood. Adults feed on leaves, flowers, or sap and are often active on sunny days.

Some species are important pests of forests and urban trees. The genus Agrilus includes many destructive pests, such as the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) and the bronze birch borer (Agrilus anxius). Others are attracted to recently burned or damaged trees and have ecological roles in decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Taxonomy: Buprestidae belongs to the superfamily Buprestoidea within Coleoptera. The family comprises about 15,000 described species in numerous genera, reflecting a broad range of life histories.