Jewel Beetles are also known as Metallic Wood-boring Beetles.

Buprestidae is one of Australia's biggest family of beetles, containing over 82 genera. Castiarina is the largest genus, with 478 species described so far.

Jewel Beetles are very distinctive in appearance. They have large eyes, short antenna and are often very brightly coloured or even metallic. Some Jewel Beetles mimic the appearance of other, bad-tasting insects as a form of protection, but mimicry is limited to just colour and patterning, not body shape.

Nearly all Jewel Beetles are active during the day and are particularly lively in hot, sunny weather. They are easily disturbed and will fly away or drop to the ground and feign death to avoid harm.

The adults of some species, particularly the more colourful ones, eat nectar and flower petals. Jewel Beetles are important pollinators. The adults of other species eat bark or leaves.

The larvae of some species eat the insides of the stalks of grasses, or are leaf miners. Most, however, are wood-borers and eat the woody interiors of branches or roots, leaving behind a maze of tunnels that are filled with droppings and chewed up wood. The larvae pupate within these tunnels. The complete life cycle from larvae to adult may take several months, but some Jewel Beetles have been known to live for decades!

In Girraween, you are most likely to find Jewel Beetles feeding on Leptospermum flowers. One day in October of 2015, 14 different species of Jewel Beetle were found all within a few square meters of each other.

NOTE: Some of the Jewel Beetles in this section have been collected by a professional entomologist who has special permit. All animals and plants in Girraween National Park are protected.