''Cyrioides imperialis'', commonly known as the banksia jewel beetle,
is a species of
beetle in the family
Buprestidae
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 ...
native to southeastern Australia. The Danish naturalist
Johan Christian Fabricius was the first to describe it in 1801, and it still bears its original name.
The adult measures 3.8 cm (1.5 in) long,
and is a gold and black colour with an elongated body. Female beetles lay their eggs in the bark of a tree, after which the larvae hatch and tunnel into the wood. Several species of the genus ''
Banksia'', including ''
B. serrata'', ''
B. integrifolia'' and ''
B. marginata'' are host plants for the larval and adult stages. Other adult host plants recorded include ''
B. spinulosa'', ''
Leptospermum polygalifolium
''Leptospermum polygalifolium'', commonly known as tantoon, jellybush or yellow tea tree, is a species of shrub or tree of the family Myrtaceae that is endemic to eastern Australia, including Lord Howe Island. It has thin bark, elliptical leave ...
'',
and ''
Isopogon
''Isopogon'', commonly known as conesticks, conebushes or coneflowers, is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, and are endemic to Australia. They are shrubs with rigid leaves, bisexual flowers in a dense ...
'' species.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5200971
Buprestidae
Beetles described in 1801