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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Agrilus rubrovittatus
Agrilus rubrovittatus

-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 rubrovittatus


Agrilus rubrovittatus is a species of jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae, notable for its slender, streamlined body and distinctive coloration. Like other members of the genus Agrilus, it has a narrow, tapering form that ends in a pointed tip, with tightly fitted wing covers (elytra) and a relatively small head. The larvae are wood-borers, living beneath the bark or within stems of host plants, where they create winding galleries as they feed. Adults are usually found on or near host trees and shrubs, especially in sunlit environments, and may feed lightly on foliage.

Diet

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

  • Adults: Feed primarily on host plant foliage, and may also feed 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 occur in the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Found in tropical and subtropical forest habitats.

Habitat

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

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

  • Adults are typically found on host plant foliage, sunlit branches, and occasionally on flowering vegetation.

Size

  • Adult length: 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in)

  • Body slender, elongated, wedge-shaped, and typically metallic bronze to green with contrasting reddish markings.

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