Buprestidae of South Australia
( Jewel beetles )
by Peter J. Lang
Castiarina pallidipennis   (Blackburn, 1890)
subfamily  Buprestinae » tribe  Stigmoderini » subtribe  Stigmoderina
Castiarina  species group: pallidipennis
Castiarina pallidipennis   Adult images
Castiarina pallidipennis, PL1404A, female, on Melaleuca lanceolata, EP Castiarina pallidipennis, PL1404A, female, EP Castiarina pallidipennis, PL3493, male, on Eucalyptus calcareana, EP, 10.7 × 3.9 mm Castiarina pallidipennis, PL3493, male, on Eucalyptus calcareana, EP, 10.7 × 3.9 mm Castiarina pallidipennis, PL1404A, female, EP Castiarina pallidipennis, PL1427, male, EP, 10.4 × 3.9 mm Castiarina pallidipennis, PL1423, female, EP, 11.7 × 4.4 mm Castiarina pallidipennis, PL3493, male, on Eucalyptus calcareana, EP, 10.7 × 3.9 mm Castiarina pallidipennis, PL3493, male, on Eucalyptus calcareana, EP, 10.7 × 3.9 mm Castiarina pallidipennis, PL1404A, female, on Melaleuca lanceolata, EP Castiarina pallidipennis, PL1404B, female, on Melaleuca lanceolata, EP
Actual
size¹:
10.8 mm
×
3.9 mm
Measurements (mm)
malefemale
L110.6
8.8 – 11.35
n = 1011.4
8.9 – 12.8
n = 5
L29.8
8.75 – 10.6
n = 58.8
n = 1
W3.8
3.05 – 4.1
n = 104.1
2.95 – 4.7
n = 5
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
Castiarina pallidipennis  Distinctive features

Head and pronotum usually greenish with gold or coppery reflections, or sometimes red; elytra straw-coloured to yellow. The ventral side of the abdomen is largely testaceous (translucent light-brown) in males but entirely metallic in females. Similar in appearance to C. subnotata, which belongs in a different species group and has the abdomen testaceous ventrally in both sexes, and a less rounded body shape in profile, with straighter-sided elytra often bearing a brown mark in their posterior half.

Notes

A summer-emerging species that is sometimes very abundant in the blossoms of summer-flowering Mallee Eucalypts, particularly Narrow-leaf Mallee Eucalyptus leptophylla. The predominantly yellowish colouration pattern is typical of a number of summer-emerging Buprestid species that are adapted to feeding in Eucalypt flowers, including the superficially similar C. subnotata which often occurs with it.

Distribution
SA Regions¹:  EPMUSE
Australian States:  WASAVIC
Southern 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 Castiarina pallidipennis  (total of 153 beetles)
2
1
7 117
20 4 2
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Legend
live emerged adults, count > median value of 4 per quarter month
live emerged adults, count <= median value of 4
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
13714EP, MU, SEM
82EPM
52EPM
21EPM
11EPM
Legendbeetlescount of beetles collected from, or sighted on, host plant taxon
sitescount of major sites (unique 10 km grid cells +/- some distinct approximate localities)
Plant names in green are hyperlinked to a matching host species page with plant photos.
Plant family
Code beetles % host plant taxa
M Myrtaceae 153 100% 5
Position on adult host
positionbeetlessites
on flower(s)272
on flowering plant12316
on foliage or non-flowering plant21
on plant (unspecified)11
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.