''Sternocera ruficornis'' is a species of beetle belonging to the

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 ...

family. Its bright metallic green

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

are frequently used in

jewellery making Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

Description

''Sternocera ruficornis'' can reach a length of about . The

and

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ea ...

have a bright green iridescence and the pronotum is densely punctured. It is visually very similar to '' S. aequisignata''; the major morphological difference is that the legs of ''S. ruficornis'' are red and those of ''S. aequisignata'' are green.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs across southern Asia. In

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

it is prevalent in the north-east of the country where bamboo of the genus ''

Arundinaria ''Arundinaria'' is a genus of bamboo in the grass family the members of which are referred to generally as cane. ''Arundinaria'' is the only bamboo native to south and southeastern North America, with a native range from Maryland south to Florid ...

'' is found.

Lifecycle

The female lays eggs singly in soil at the base of the host plants. Each female is capable of laying 5–12 eggs, which take 2 months to hatch. The hatched larva has five

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

stages. Stages 1 to 4 remain in the soil for 3–4 months where they feed upon the roots of the adult host plants. The 5th instar can be found above ground, until it returns underground again to pupate. Adult beetles have a short lifespan of 1–3 weeks, though the complete life cycle takes up to two years.

Relationship to humans

As food

''Sternocera ruficornis'' and the similar '' S. aequisignata'' are both consumed by humans as a source of food in northern

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

, and China. This is one of the major sources of their decline in that area.

References

Buprestidae Beetles described in 1866 Beetles of Asia Edible insects Taxa named by Edward Saunders (entomologist) {{Buprestidae-stub