Castiarina scalaris
Scalaris jewel beetle at Cook, ACT
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| Castiarina scalaris | Harrisi | 27 Jan 2022 | |
| Castiarina crenata | Roger | 26 Jan 2022 |
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1 comment
26 Jan 2022
Sorry folks, these are not Castiarina crenata. They are also not C. hilaris though do look similar to C. scalaris. Many species in groups within buprestidae are very similar to each other and not just separatable by obvious external patterning and colours. The length of the animal helps, width also though ultimately more minute details need to be examined, ascertained. Can be f5rustrating at times though we must avoid the compulsion to identify prematurely on superficial factors. Unfortunately, visual reference material for identifying buprestids (jewel beetles) is fairly sparse and by no mean integrated. Shelly Barker's 'Castiarina' is probably the best reference for this this particular group of buprestids though it has been long out of print and old copies rarely show up anywhere. Peter Lang's 'Buprestids of South Australia' site is a great reference with excellent colour photos and relevant data, inc host plants. Unfortunately, the buprestid, in particular Castiarina images on ALA, contain many errors in ID so cannot be relied on. There are a few well regarded experts out there but I won't go down that tangent, can be a minefield. Ironically, I have found almost the exact same beetle in the last few days and was about to send images to some experts for their opinion. this beetle was 9mm in length and feeding on Leptospermum continentale along Corin forest Road yesterday. I will let you know as soon as I find out. Unfortunately I have not been allowed to return to ANIC as a volunteer due to Covid where I would be able to compare the specimen with ones lodged there.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.076660-35.269180
- Altitude 654.1m
- Maps Aranda Bushland
- Places Cook, ACT
Sighting information
- 3 Abundance
- 26 Jan 2022 02:18 PM Recorded on
- Roger Recorded by
- 5mm to 12mm Animal size
Collections
- Roger Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Castiarina scalaris Jewel beetles (Buprestidae) Beetles (Coleoptera) Insects
Species information
- Castiarina scalaris Scientific name
- Scalaris jewel beetle Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1068m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes
- Description