top of page

Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Agaeocera Jewel Beetles
Agaeocera (Genus)

-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 Buprestinae

-Tribe Buprestini

-Genus Agaeocera


Genus Agaeocera is a group of jewel beetles in the family Buprestidae. These beetles are part of the diverse and colourful group of metallic wood-boring beetles known for their iridescent and shiny appearance. Like other members of the Buprestidae family, members of the genus Agaeocera are typically wood-borers during their larval stage, which can cause damage to trees.

Diet

  • Larvae: Feed beneath the bark and within the wood of dead, dying, or weakened trees and shrubs, tunnelling through the cambium and outer sapwood.

  • Adults: Feed primarily on pollen and nectar, frequently visiting flowering shrubs and wildflowers. Some species may also feed on tree sap.

Range

  • The genus Agaeocera is native to North and Central America, with species occurring from the southwestern United States through Mexico into Central America.

  • In Mexico, species occur in warm regions, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • The genus currently contains only three described species: A. gentilis, A. gigas, and A. scintillans.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, thorn scrub, woodland edges, oak woodlands, secondary forests, and flowering clearings.

  • Larvae develop in dead or weakened branches and trunks of hardwood trees and shrubs.

  • Adults are commonly found on flowers, sunlit logs, and exposed tree trunks during warm, sunny weather.

Size

  • Adult length: 8–20 mm (0.3–0.8 in), depending on the species.

  • Body elongated, wedge-shaped, and often brilliantly metallic.

bottom of page