Polybothris sumptuosa | |
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Museum specimen of Polybothris sumptuosa | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Family: | Buprestidae |
Genus: | Polybothris |
Species: | P. sumptuosa |
Binomial name | |
Polybothris sumptuosa Klug, 1833 | |
Polybothris sumptuosa, the Malagasy jewel beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Buprestidae.
Polybothris sumptuosa can reach a length of about 35–38 millimetres (1.4–1.5 in). This jewel beetle shows various chromatic forms. There are a shiny metallic blue form (P. sumptuosa gemma), a dark green form (P. sumptuosa superba) and a dark green to black form (P. sumptuosa sumptuosa).
These wood boring beetles can be found in Madagascar.
Beryl ( BERR-əl) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several meters in size, but terminated crystals are relatively rare. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, pink, and red (the rarest). It is an ore source of beryllium.
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops. Some others also have unusual characteristics, such as fireflies, which use a light-emitting organ for mating and communication purposes.
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word sapphirus, itself from the Greek word sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on the locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third-hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.
The purple heron is a wide-ranging heron species. It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Palearctic. The Western Palearctic populations migrate between breeding and wintering habitats whereas the African and tropical-Asian populations are primarily sedentary, except for occasional dispersive movements. It is similar in appearance to the more common grey heron but is slightly smaller, more slender and has darker plumage. It is also a more evasive bird, favouring densely vegetated habitats near water, particularly reed beds. It hunts for a range of prey including fish, rodents, frogs and insects, either stalking them or standing waiting in ambush.
Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some 15,500 species known in 775 genera. In addition, almost 100 fossil species have been described.
Scutelleridae is a family of true bugs. They are commonly known as jewel bugs or metallic shield bugs due to their often brilliant coloration. With the name based on the Asian genus Scutellera, they are also known as shield-backed bugs due to the enlargement of the thoracic scutellum into a continuous shield over the abdomen and wings. This latter characteristic distinguishes them from most other families within Heteroptera, and may lead to misidentification as a beetle rather than a bug. These insects feed on plant juices from a variety of different species, including some commercial crops. Closely related to stink bugs, they may also produce an offensive odour when disturbed. There are around 450 species worldwide.
Dracaena reflexa is a tree native to Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, and other nearby islands of the Indian Ocean. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant and houseplant, valued for its richly coloured, evergreen leaves, and thick, irregular stems.
Acacia decurrens, commonly known as black wattle or early green wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub native to eastern New South Wales, including Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, the Hunter Region, and southwest to the Australian Capital Territory. It grows to a height of 2–15 m (7–50 ft) and it flowers from July to September.
The Madagascar blue vanga is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is found in Madagascar, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The nelicourvi weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Together with its closest relative, the sakalava weaver, it is sometimes placed in a separate genus Nelicurvius. A slender, sparrow-like bird, it is 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighing 20–28 g (0.71–0.99 oz). Breeding males have a black bill and head, brown eyes, yellow collar, grey belly, chestnut-brown lower tail coverts, olive back, and blackish flight feathers edged greenish. Non-breeding males have mottled grey and green heads. In the breeding female the front of the head is yellow and the back olive green, with a broad yellow eyebrow. It builds solitary, roofed, retort-shaped nests, hanging by a rope from a branch, vine or bamboo stem, in an open space. It primarily feeds on insects, looking on its own or in very small groups, often together with long-billed bernieria. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland and mountain forests. The conservation status of Nelicourvi weaver is least concern according to the IUCN Red List.
Euphorbia leuconeura is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. Its common name is Madagascar jewel. It is endemic to Madagascar where its natural habitat is forest undergrowth in rocky areas. It can grow to a height of 1.8 m (6 ft), as a branching small tree, and propagates by shooting its seeds several feet into the air. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Chrysochroinae is a subfamily of beetles in the family Buprestidae: the "jewel beetles".
Belionota sumptuosa, commonly known as the tricolor metallic wood-boring beetle, is a jewel beetle of the Buprestidae family. It is found in Indonesia.
Plybothris sparsuta is a beetle of the family Buprestidae.
The carpet chameleon, also known as the jewel chameleon or white-lined chameleon, is a species of chameleon that is endemic to eastern Madagascar. It is a relatively small chameleon and especially females tend to have bright markings in many colours, whereas males are mostly green and whitish or green and yellowish.
Sternotomis variabilis, the Lesser Jewel Longhorn Beetle, is a species of flat-faced longhorn beetles belonging to the family Cerambycidae.
Catoxantha opulenta is a species of jewel beetle belonging to the family Buprestidae, subfamily Chrysochroinae.
Pelidnota sumptuosa is a species of beetles of the family Scarabaeidae.
Plybothris quadricollis is a beetle of the family Buprestidae.
Dicercini is a tribe of metallic wood-boring beetles in the family Buprestidae. There are more than 30 genera and over 750 described species in Dicercini.