Jewel beetles are wood-boring beetles belonging to the Buprestidae family. They are most well-known for their glossy and iridescent colours in many species. Due to the brilliant colours, it is not uncommon for their elytra to be harvested for beetlewing jewelry and decorations.

All photos are of live subjects shot in the field, with the dorsal view selected where available. Click on individual photos for larger views and views from other angles. As specimens were not collected, identifications were done purely based on photographs and may not be 100% accurate.

This page will be updated regularly, please let me know if you spot any mistakes.

View my complete Flickr photo set: Buprestidae – Jewel Beetles.

Region Filters

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Class: Insecta Linnaeus, 1758

Order: Coleoptera Linnaeus, 1758

Family: Buprestidae Leach, 1815

West Malaysia: Aphanisticus cochinchinae Obenberger, 1924

Singapore: Belionota prasina (Thunberg, 1789)

Singapore: Endelus cupido Deyrolle, 1864

Singapore: Endelus sp.

West Malaysia: Endelus sp.

West Malaysia: Endelus sp.

Singapore: Habroloma lepidopterum (Deyrolle, 1864)

West Malaysia: Polyctesis sp.

Madagascar: Polybothris quadricollis (Castelnau & Gory, 1836)

Madagascar: Polybothris quadricollis (Castelnau & Gory, 1836)

Madagascar: Polybothris (Apateum) zivettoides (Fairmaire, 1889)

Madagascar: Polybothris (Apateum) zivettoides (Fairmaire, 1889)

Madagascar: Polybothris sp. 2507

Madagascar: Polybothris sp. 2497

Madagascar: Polybothris sp. 2636

Singapore: Pachyscelus orientalis Obenberger, 1924

Singapore: Trachys sp.

Behavior

Singapore: Endelus sp. preflight

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