Beetles (Coleoptera) of Peru: A Survey of the Families. Buprestidae

Abstract

Buprestidae Diversity in Peru: 4 subfamilies, 12 tribes, 29 genera, 110 species and 3 subspecies. Recognition: Buprestidae are commonly called “jewel beetles” because of the spectacular colors of the adults of many species. Most buprestids are small to medium-sized beetles, although Euchroma gigantea is one of the largest Neotropical insects (55 mm). Adults display two extremes of morphology and ecology: members of one group are small (2–6 mm), rhomboidal, dorso-ventrally flattened, and mine leaves as larvae; the rest of the family are borers in wood or soft tissues and are larger (4–35 mm), elongate, and cylindrical or moderately flattened. Adults of many species are strongly shining and brightly metallic in coloration, a few are more or less covered by waxy yellow powder, and some have patterns formed by setae. Mimicry occurs in adults of both leaf-miners (models include chrysomelids and coccinellids; Hespenheide, 2014) and wood-borers (models include ants, flies and wasps; Hespenheide, 1986, 2010, 2012). Larvae are typically flattened with a large prothorax. Habitat: Members of the family occur primarily at low- to mid-elevations, below 2000–3000 m. Buprestids are most common in primary forest canopies, at forest edges, or in secondary growth, although a few species are found in open habitats on weeds and sedges. Adult behavior is related to larval feeding type. Wood-boring species are more numerous in areas of lower rainfall and a well-defined dry season and are usually found running on the trunks and branches of recently dead trees or branches, or feeding on leaves of their larval hosts. Adults are most active during the sunny weather during midday, and they fly readily, making them difficult to capture. Leaf-mining species are more common in areas with higher rainfall, and adults usually feed on the leaves of the larval host. Larval mines are usually full-depth and may be either serpentine or blotch-like in form, depending on the species. Except for some of the larger wood-boring species, most buprestids of both ecological types are apparently relatively narrowly host-specific and many appear to exist in very low populations. Many are associated with woody dicots, especially legumes, although leaf-miners are known from ferns and such monocots as sedges (Cyperaceae) and palms (Arecaceae). Pest species in Peru: Very few tropical species appear to be important agriculturally. Leaf-mining species (Leiopleura spp.) are associated with cassava or yuca (Manihot esculenta). The invasive Aphanisticus cochinchinae seminulum likely occurs on sugar cane, but neither appears to have much effect on the plants. Chrysobothris species have been reported as pests in plantations of woody plants.