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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Agrilaxia fasciata
Agrilaxia fasciata

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

-​Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

-Elateriform Beetles (Infraorder Elateriformia)

-Superfamily Buprestoidea

-Jewel Beetles Family (Buprestidae)

-Subfamily Agrilinae

-Tribe Agrilini

-Genus Agrilaxia

-Agrilaxia fasciata


The genus Agrilaxia is a group of beetles within the family Buprestidae, commonly known as jewel beetles. These beetles are named for their shiny, metallic-colored bodies, which can display an iridescent sheen, much like jewels. Members of the Agrilaxia genus are known for their significant ecological role, particularly as pests in forestry and agriculture, due to their larval stage, which typically feeds inside trees and other plants.

Diet

  • Larvae: Feed beneath the bark and within the stems or branches of dead, dying, or weakened woody plants, tunnelling through the cambium and outer sapwood.

  • Adults: Feed primarily on pollen and nectar, and may also consume small amounts of foliage or tree sap.

Range

  • Native to Mexico and Central America.

  • In Mexico, it has been recorded from warm regions, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Its range extends south into Central America, where it occurs in tropical and subtropical forests.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical semi-deciduous forests, woodland edges, secondary forests, thorn scrub, and flowering clearings.

  • Larvae develop within dead or weakened branches and stems of woody shrubs and trees.

  • Adults are most often encountered on flowers, sunlit vegetation, and exposed branches during warm weather.

Size

  • Adult length: 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in)

  • Body slender, wedge-shaped, and compact, with the hard, sculptured exoskeleton typical of jewel beetles.

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