metallic wood-boring beetle

metallic wood-boring beetle
any of numerous metallic green, blue, copper, or black beetles of the family Buprestidae, the larvae of which bore into the wood of trees.

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insect
also called  Jewel Beetle,  

      any of some 15,000 species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera), mostly distributed in tropical regions, that are among the most brilliantly coloured insects. These beetles are long, narrow, and flat, with a tapering abdomen. The wing covers (elytra) of some species are metallic blue, copper, green, or black in colour. Highly metallic beetles were used as living jewelry by both women and men during the Victorian Age. The brightly coloured body of other species is hidden by the dull dark wing covers and is exposed only during flight or from a ventral (bottom) view. A predator chasing a metallic-coloured flying beetle may not recognize it as prey when it stops flying and becomes a dull, dark-coloured lump on a branch.

      The white, legless larvae, which resemble tadpoles, are called flatheaded borers because of their shape. The head region is flattened and expanded sideways; the rest of the body is cylindrical and narrow.

      Many metallic wood-boring beetle larvae carve out ribbon-shaped tunnels in wood. Chrysobothris attacks trees and shrubs and often seriously damages fruit trees. Some (e.g., Agrilus) cause the formation of a gall in which the larvae live. The small, flat Brachys tunnels through leaves.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • metallic wood-boring beetle — any of numerous metallic green, blue, copper, or black beetles of the family Buprestidae, the larvae of which bore into the wood of trees …   Useful english dictionary

  • coleopteran — /koh lee op teuhr euhn, kol ee /, adj. 1. belonging or pertaining to the order Coleoptera. n. 2. a beetle. [1840 50; COLEOPTER(A) + AN] * * * ▪ insect Introduction   any member of the insect order Coleoptera, consisting of the beetles and weevils …   Universalium

  • apple tree borer — noun : a beetle having larvae that bore in apple trees: a. : flatheaded apple tree borer b. : a large beetle (Saperda candida) brown striped with white above and dull white beneath that is especially destructive to apple and other fruit trees… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Elateriformia — Taxobox name = Elateriformia image width = 250px image caption = Adelocera murina , a click beetle regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Insecta ordo = Coleoptera subordo = Polyphaga infraordo = Elateriformia infraordo authority =… …   Wikipedia

  • Elateroidea — Taxobox name = Elateroidea image width = 240px image caption = Adelocera murina , a click beetle regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Insecta ordo = Coleoptera subordo = Polyphaga infraordo = Elateriformia superfamilia = Elateroidea… …   Wikipedia

  • apple tree borer — 1. Also called flatheaded apple tree borer. the larva of a metallic wood boring beetle, Chrysobothris femorata, that bores into the wood of apple and other fruit trees. 2. Also called roundheaded apple tree borer. the larva of a long horned… …   Universalium

  • flatheaded borer — noun or flathead borer Etymology: so called from its much enlarged and flattened thorax : any of numerous beetle larvae of the family Buprestidae that bore beneath the bark or in the sapwood of trees * * * the larva of a metallic wood boring… …   Useful english dictionary

  • flatheaded borer — the larva of a metallic wood boring beetle, having an expanded and flattened anterior end. Also called hammerhead. [1880 85] * * * …   Universalium

  • hymenopteran — /huy meuh nop teuhr euhn/, adj. 1. hymenopterous. n. 2. Also, hymenopter. a hymenopterous insect. [1875 80; HYMENOPTER + AN] * * * ▪ insect Introduction   any member of the third largest and perhaps the most beneficial to humans of all insect… …   Universalium

  • Huia — This article is about the extinct bird species. For other uses, see Huia (disambiguation). Huia A pair (male in front of female) Painting by J.G. Keulemans from W.L. Buller s A History of the Birds of New Zealand (1888) …   Wikipedia

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