Buprestidae of South Australia
( Jewel beetles )
by Peter J. Lang
Anilara obscura   (Macleay, 1872)
subfamily  Buprestinae » tribe  Curidini » subtribe  Anilarina
Anilara obscura   Adult images
Anilara obscura, PL3178B, female, on Eucalyptus microcarpa, SL, 4.9 × 2.1 mm Anilara obscura, PL3180B, male, from Eucalyptus microcarpa dead foliage, SL, 4.5 × 1.9 mm Anilara obscura, PL3533, adult host plant, Eucalyptus oleosa, fallen branch, EP Anilara obscura, PL1329, adult host plant, Eucalyptus dumosa, fallen branch, SE
Actual
size¹:
4.5 mm
×
1.8 mm
Measurements (mm)
malefemale
L14.4
3.35 – 5.9
n = 664.7
3.4 – 6.1
n = 47
L24.2
3.2 – 5.2
n = 334.7
3.25 – 5.8
n = 22
W1.8
1.4 – 2.2
n = 661.9
1.3 – 2.5
n = 47
Legend  L1length from clypeus/frons to elytral apex (mean, range, sample size)
L2length from anterior of edge of eyes to elytral apex
Wmaximum width with elytra fully closed
Anilara obscura  Distinctive features

Red-brown to grey-brown, with a moderately short pronotum that is only gently contracted near the base. On the ventral side between the metacoxae males have a weak boss that is not usually darkened and is obtusely angled at is anterior end.

Notes

An extremely abundant and widely distributed species that often occurs together with the larger and more elongate Anilara longicollis on the dead or dying twigs and foliage of fallen Eucalypt branches.

Distribution
SA Regions¹:  NUFRNLMUSLSE
Australian States:  WASAVICNSWQLD
South Australian occurrences
LegendP.J.Lang collection vouchered records
other private collection or museum specimens, or sightings
Satellite map
Terrain map
Enlarge map
Adult activity records for Anilara obscura  (total of 349 beetles)
2 16
43 14 34 29
32 15 20 62
37 5 3 13
16 5 3
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Legend
live emerged adults, count > median value of 16 per quarter month
live emerged adults, count <= median value of 16
live non-emerged adults only, for that quarter month
12
number of active beetles for that quarter month
Adult host plants
beetles sites SA regions¹ family position on host plant
834FR, NL, SLM
309EP, MUM
263EP, MUM
234MU, SLM
Eucalyptus sp.223FR, EP, MUM
192FR, MUM
*Eucalyptus cladocalyx154EP, NL, SLM
143EP, MU, SEM
144EP, MUM
124MU, SLM
122MUM
104FR, EP, MUM
71MUM
Eucalyptus camaldulensis71FRM
61SLM
63NL, MU, SLM
54EPM
51SEM
33MU, SLM
31MUM
21NLM
21EPM
21SLF
22MU, SEM
11SEC
11MUC
11EPM
11SEM
11SLM
*Eucalyptus saligna11SLM
Legendbeetlescount of beetles collected from, or sighted on, host plant taxon
sitescount of major sites (unique 10 km grid cells +/- some distinct approximate localities)
*indicates alien (non-native) plant occurrences, either wild or planted (the species may be alien in SA, or native in parts of its SA range)
Plant names in green are hyperlinked to a matching host species page with plant photos.
Plant family
Code beetles % host plant taxa
M Myrtaceae 313 99% 22
C Casuarinaceae 2 1% 2
F Fabaceae 2 1% 1
Position on adult host
positionbeetlessites
on foliage or non-flowering plant11
on dead foliage33351
other
  on dead fallen branch stem21
Lure affinity
colour beetles sites SA regions¹
yellow11MU
Anilara obscura Breeding record images
Anilara obscura, PL5554Ax, male, pupa, in dead Eucalyptus leptophylla stem, SE, photo by A.M.P. Stolarski Anilara obscura, PL5554Ax, male, pupa, in dead Eucalyptus leptophylla stem, SE, photo by A.M.P. Stolarski Anilara obscura, PL2533, dead non-emerged adult, in dead branch of Eucalyptus microcarpa, SL
Larval host plants
records sites SA regions¹ family adult liveadult deadadult ex billetadult ex pupapupa
101SEM7111
91SLM18
21SEM2
11SEM1
Legendrecordscount of breeding adults, pupae and larvae
sitescount of major sites (unique 10 km grid cells +/- some distinct approximate localities)
adultlive = extracted alive;   dead = extracted dead as intact or fragmentary remains;   ex billet = reared and emerged from stored sections of host;   ex pupa = reared from sampled pupa
pupaextracted pupa;   pupa ex larva = reared pupa from larva
larvaextracted larva (any stage including prepupa)
gall (only)hatched or unhatched gall identified by form and position rather than contents
Plant names in green are hyperlinked to a matching host species page with plant photos.
Plant family
Code records % host plant taxa
M Myrtaceae 22 100% 4
Position in larval host
positionrecordssitesadult liveadult deadadult ex billetadult ex pupapupa
dead stem22475811
Host plant notes

I have collected adults from the dead foliage of a wide range of Eucalyptus species, and reared them from billets cut from fallen branches of Grey Box E. microcarpa in Adelaide. I also extracted dead remains of one individual from a dead fallen branch of E. microcarpa at a nearby Adelaide site. Other larval host plant species have been demonstrated in the SE Region by A.M.P. Stolarski, the first record being two dead individuals extracted from a stem of Ridge-fruit Mallee E. incrassata which had fallen over about 12 months earlier. Seven live adults were later obtained from the wood of a dead, but still standing, Narrow-leaf Mallee (E. leptophylla).
It is expected that breeding can occur in most, if not all, of the Eucalypt species on which the adults have been found.

¹ LegendregionsSA State Herbarium regions (map)
EA: Eastern, EP: Eyre Peninsula, FR: Flinders Ranges, GT: Gairdner-Torrens, KI: Kangaroo Island, LE: Lake Eyre, MU: Murray, NL: Northern Lofty, NU: Nullarbor, NW: North-Western, SE: South-Eastern, SL: Southern Lofty, YP: Yorke Peninsula
sizeThe ellipse is the correct size when printed, indicative on a desktop screen, and likely to be wrong on a mobile device.