Metallic Jewel Beetle
Pronotum Punctuations
Ellura
Giant Jewel Beetle
S1, Male, dorsal
 
                      
Metallic Jewel Beetle (Melobasis soror ssp soror)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Beetles (Coleoptera)
Family: Jewel Beetle (Buprestidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Metallic Jewel Beetle (Melobasis soror ssp soror)
This Photo:     🔍Metallic Blue Body🔎

Thank you Dr Peter Lang for identifying, Mark Hura, Stephan Gottwald & Joel DuBois for confirming and Allen Sundholm OAM for helping with the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~12 to 14mm long.
They quickly dropped off the bush onto the ground when felt threatened.
Seems to have a metallic blue body.
We thought this was Melobasis propinqua but Allen indicated that there are several similar species requiring microscopic examination to separate to species. He also said "Melobasis propinqua does not have the distinct costae on the elytra, is more rounded generally, and is much more hirsute ventrally".
Stephan said "I think nervosa species-group".
Peter said "I think that this is the species that I treat as Melobasis sp. Senna on my website": Buprestidae of South Australia
As you can see, this Stephan's comment that it belongs in the nervosa species-group.
We Found 4 in two Senna artemisioides bushes during the day in Sept.

Copyright © 2020-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 18-Sep-2020
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.