Elongate body shape, highly reflective metallic colouration, usually predominantly greenish but males with head and pronotum copper to bright cerise-pink.

This species appears closely related to C. westwoodi which is found in NSW and Victoria, it but differs in the coppery to rose coloured head and pronotum of the males. The original description by Barker 2001 was based on a population from NW of Kapunda in the NL Region, the only place it was known at the time. I have found that it is well distributed throughout the northern and southern Mt Lofty Ranges (NL, SL and adjoining western edge of MU Region) wherever its host plant, Acacia retinodes, grows.

This species appears to be highly host specific: of 196 individuals all but one was from Acacia retinodes, the sole exception being on a tree of A. pycnantha situated near a stand of A. retinodes. The virtual uniqueness of the association is unusual: twelve other Buprestid species also use A. retinodes as an adult host, but none of those are confined to it and are commonly found on other Acacia species also. Acacia retinodes is one of only a few SA Acacia species that flower in this region during summer, and it is postulated that D. chalcophora may have become dependent on its flowers as a food source (rather than, or as well as, its foliage), and so become tied to this species.

Notably, D. chalcophora has not be found on the closely related species Acacia provincialis and A. uncifolia that were previously included within A. retinodes.