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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Agrilus catherinae
Agrilus catherinae

-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 Agrilus

-Agrilus catherinae


This species has the classic Agrilus form: a narrow, tapering body that becomes pointed toward the rear, with smooth, tightly fitted wing covers (elytra) and a relatively small head. The surface may appear glossy or finely textured, and the coloration can shift depending on lighting, giving it a muted jewel-like sheen rather than the bold brilliance of some larger buprestids. A. catherinae is associated with woody plants, as are most Agrilus species. The larvae are wood-borers, living beneath the bark or within stems, where they feed on plant tissues and create winding galleries. Adults are typically found on or near host plants, where they may feed on leaves or bark and are often active in sunlit conditions.

Diet

  • Larvae: Feed beneath the bark of living, stressed, or recently dead woody plants, tunnelling through the cambium and outer sapwood.

  • Adults: Feed primarily on host plant foliage, with occasional feeding on young shoots and flowers.

Range

  • Native to Mexico.

  • Recorded from western and southern regions of the country, including the Pacific slope, with records from Guerrero, making it a species that may be encountered in the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Appears to have a distribution centred in tropical and subtropical Mexico.

Habitat

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

  • Larvae develop beneath the bark of trees and woody shrubs.

  • Adults are typically found on host plants and occasionally on nearby flowering vegetation in sunny areas.

Size

  • Adult length: 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in)

  • Body slender, elongated, and wedge-shaped, with the hard, metallic exoskeleton characteristic of jewel beetles.

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