on 19/05/2025
written by Rob Wallace from the Green Adelaide Education Team
Green Adelaide supports nature-based life-long learning at your school or preschool. We love fostering curiosity and connecting students to the amazing biodiversity right around them.
Check out the amazing jewel beetles that can be found around Adelaide, we hope they inspire you to create a more pollinator-friendly school or preschool.
Jewel Beetles are in the Buprestidae family which is the eighth largest of the beetle families in the world. Nearly all species of this family found in Australia are endemic to this country. This means they occur nowhere else in the world. There are over 1300 described jewel beetle species in Australia. In South Australia we have a large and diverse number of species, but few are endemic to this state. Castiarina is the largest genus of jewel beetles. Castiarina grata is pictured above eating pollen on a Hakea rostrata.
The Castiarina and Temognatha genera have evolved along with plants in the Myrtaceae family (Eucalypts, Tea-trees and Melaleucas), but are also found on plants in other families including Hakeas and Ixodias. They prefer open, shallow nectar producing flowers.
Flower feeding jewel beetles are usually brightly coloured, but the leaf feeding species frequently blend in with their surroundings. Their sizes vary from less than 3mm to over 4cm. All are capable of transporting pollen from one flower to another and from plant to plant.
Larvae of these beetles feed on roots and stems of various plants; some preferring live wood and others dead wood.
The brightly coloured jewel beetles often contain bupestrin, a bitter chemical to deter predators. While many insects exude sex pheromones to attract mates, the budestrid jewel beetles don’t give off pheromones, but have large eyes and are attracted to the bright colours of their potential mates.
Some jewel beetle species rely on specific vegetation types, so it is important that we conserve large areas of undisturbed woodland to cater for their varying habitat needs.
Contact Green Adelaide for free, ongoing support to help you teach about and connect to the natural world, lead informed action, and enable active citizens.
Email: sustainable.schools@sa.gov.au
Website: www.greenadelaide.sa.gov.au
References:
- Lang, PJ., Buprestidae of South Australia
- Williams, G. et al., Australian Jewel Beetles. An Introduction to the Buprestidae
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