Buprestidae of South Australia
( Jewel beetles )
by Peter J. Lang
Ethonion leai   (Carter, 1924)
subfamily  Agrilinae » tribe  Coraebini » subtribe  Ethoniina
Ethonion leai   Adult images
Ethonion leai, PL0780A, male, on Dillwynia hispida, MU, 6.8 × 2.7 mm Ethonion leai, PL0780A, male, on Dillwynia hispida, MU, 6.8 × 2.7 mm Ethonion leai, PL0780A, male, from Dillwynia hispida, MU, 6.8 × 2.7 mm Ethonion leai, PL0780A, male, on Dillwynia hispida, MU, 6.8 × 2.7 mm Ethonion leai, PL0453A, female, from Dillwynia hispida, SL, 7.0 × 2.8 mm Ethonion leai, PL0425, male, from Dillwynia hispida, SL, 6.6 × 2.6 mm Ethonion leai, PL0177, on Calytrix tetragona, SL, 5.6 × 2.2 mm Ethonion leai, adult host plant, Dillwynia hispida, (E. leai beetle on uppermost flower), SL, photo by D.J. Duval - SA Seed Conservation Centre
Actual
size¹:
7.0 mm
×
2.8 mm
Measurements (mm)
malefemale
L16.8
6.05 – 7.8
n = 227.1
5.8 – 8.2
n = 19
L26.8
6 – 7.75
n = 137.3
5.75 – 8.15
n = 8
W2.7
2.4 – 3.15
n = 222.9
2.3 – 3.35
n = 19
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
Ethonion leai  Distinctive features

Elytra reddish-maroon with the whitish scale-hair patches aligned in a longitudinal zone on their inner halves.

Notes

The galls of E. leai are the most conspicuous of those made by SA Ethonion species, and appear as distinct well-defined elongate swellings on the base or lower parts of stems.

Distribution
SA Regions¹:  EPMUSLKISE
Australian States:  SATASVICNSW
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 Ethonion leai  (total actual records: 89 beetles)
5
7 26 24 4
6 3 11
3
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Legend
9
number of active beetles, actually recorded in that quarter-month
actual count > 6 (median)
actual count <= 6 (median)
live non-emerged (inactive) beetles only
Adult host plants
beetles sites SA regions¹ family position on host plant
6618MU, SL, SEF
Pultenaea sp.43SLF
Leptospermum sp.21SLM
22SEF
11SLM
Daviesia sp.11SLF
11SEM
11SLF
11SLF
11SLF
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
F Fabaceae 76 95% 6
M Myrtaceae 4 5% 2
Position on adult host
positionbeetlessites
on flower(s)5012
on flowering plant1411
on plant (unspecified)159
other
  stem gall11
Lure affinity
colour beetles sites SA regions¹
orange42SE
red21SE
Ethonion leai Breeding record images
Ethonion leai, PL3672, larva, from Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3095), dorsal & ventral view, (5.7 mm long), SE, 5.7 × 1.5 mm Ethonion leai, PL3904, larva, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3176) stem gall, before dissection, SE, 6.9 × 1.9 mm Ethonion leai, PL3904, larva, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3176), same gall dissected, SE, 6.9 × 1.9 mm Ethonion leai, PL3904, larva, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3176), same gall dissected, SE, 6.9 × 1.9 mm Ethonion leai, PL3672, larva, from Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3095), dorsal & ventral view, (5.7 mm long), SE, 5.7 × 1.5 mm Ethonion leai, PL3672, larva, from Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3095), ventral view, SE, 5.7 × 1.5 mm Ethonion leai, PL0672, larva, from Dillwynia hispida, dorsolateral & ventral views, 11.3 mm long, SL, 11.3 × 2.3 mm Ethonion leai, PL0675, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2651) stem gall, before dissection, SL, 6.2 × 2.5 mm Ethonion leai, PL0675, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2651) stem gall, same gall dissected, SL, 6.2 × 2.5 mm Ethonion leai, PL3938B, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3199) stem gall, SE, 7.1 × 2.8 mm Ethonion leai, PL3938B, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3199) stem gall, SE, 7.1 × 2.8 mm Ethonion leai, PL0425, male, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2622) stem gall, SL, 6.6 × 2.6 mm Ethonion leai, PL0425, male, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2622) stem gall, SL, 6.6 × 2.6 mm Ethonion leai, PL3938A, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3199) stem gall, SE, 7.3 × 2.8 mm Ethonion leai, PL3938A, male, non-emerged adult, in Dillwynia hispida (PJL 3199) stem gall, SE, 7.3 × 2.8 mm Ethonion leai, PL0561, larval host plant, Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2633), an unusually heavy infestation, SL Ethonion leai, PL0561, larval host plant, Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2633), hatched & unhatched stem galls, SL Ethonion leai, PL0675, larval host plant, Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2651), unhatched stem gall, SL, 6.2 × 2.5 mm Ethonion leai, PL1920, larval host plant, plant Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2757), unhatched stem galls, SL Ethonion leai, larval host plant, Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2578), hatched stem gall, SL Ethonion leai, larval host plant, Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2578), hatched stem gall, SL Ethonion leai, larval host plant, Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2578), old hatched stem galls, SL Ethonion leai, larval host plant, Dillwynia hispida (PJL 2578), old hatched stem galls, SL
Larval host plants
records sites SA regions¹ family adult liveadult deadadult ex billetlarvagall (only)
22424EP, MU, SL, SEF268247141
111SEF65
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
F Fabaceae 235 100% 2
Position in larval host
positionrecordssitesadult liveadult deadadult ex billetlarvagall (only)
root crown gall2111
stem gall23223307252141
unknown111
Host plant notes

In SA the galls are normally found on Dillwynia hispida (Downy Parrot-pea) although there are also a few records from D. glaberrima (Smooth Parrot-pea) in the SE Region. Adults are most commonly found on flowers of the larval host species.

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.