Interesting looking insect - Ask Extension
What is this insect in the picture of blue? I had never seen it before. It’s striking shiny green color caught my interest.
Knowledgebase
Interesting looking insect #791922
Asked May 21, 2022, 11:34 AM EDT
What is this insect in the picture of blue? I had never seen it before. It’s striking shiny green color caught my interest.
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Anna,
That is a beauty, isn't it?
It is one of the metallic wood-boring beetles, also called jewel beetles (Family: Buprestidae).
That particular metallic wood-boring beetle is called a western cedar borer, Trachykele blondeli.
Here is some information about this species from the book, Western Forest Insects...
The larvae bore principally in the heartwood of living trees. Thuja plicata (western red cedar) is the principal host. Other hosts are species of Juniperus and Cupressus and perhaps Libocedrus decurrens. The larval mines cause degrade and cull in trees cut for poles, shingles, boats, and other products requiring sound wood. For undetermined reasons, some forest areas are especially subject to damage by this insect; others are not. The adult is 11 to 17 mm long, bright emerald green with a golden sheen, and has several darker spots on the wing covers. On T. plicata the adults feed on the foliage and the eggs are laid under bark scales on branches of living trees. The larvae bore from the branches into the bole where they mine principally in the heartwood. The life cycle is presumed to take 2, 3, or more years. Adults form in the fall and emerge the following spring. No practical method of prevention or control has been developed.
Enjoy!
That is a beauty, isn't it?
It is one of the metallic wood-boring beetles, also called jewel beetles (Family: Buprestidae).
That particular metallic wood-boring beetle is called a western cedar borer, Trachykele blondeli.
Here is some information about this species from the book, Western Forest Insects...
The larvae bore principally in the heartwood of living trees. Thuja plicata (western red cedar) is the principal host. Other hosts are species of Juniperus and Cupressus and perhaps Libocedrus decurrens. The larval mines cause degrade and cull in trees cut for poles, shingles, boats, and other products requiring sound wood. For undetermined reasons, some forest areas are especially subject to damage by this insect; others are not. The adult is 11 to 17 mm long, bright emerald green with a golden sheen, and has several darker spots on the wing covers. On T. plicata the adults feed on the foliage and the eggs are laid under bark scales on branches of living trees. The larvae bore from the branches into the bole where they mine principally in the heartwood. The life cycle is presumed to take 2, 3, or more years. Adults form in the fall and emerge the following spring. No practical method of prevention or control has been developed.
Enjoy!
