Buprestidae of South Australia
( Jewel beetles )
by Peter J. Lang
Hypocisseis ornata   Carter, 1923
subfamily  Agrilinae » tribe  Coraebini » subtribe  Cisseina
Hypocisseis ornata   Adult images
Hypocisseis ornata, PL5526, female, on Amyema miquelii stem, (placed for photo), SL, 6.8 × 2.8 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5535, female, from Amyema miquelii (PJL 3571), reared from pupa, SL, 7.8 × 3.3 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5526, female, from Amyema miquelii, reared from pupa, SL, 6.8 × 2.8 mm Hypocisseis ornata, SAMA, male, from Amyema sp., (cut from) Hypocisseis ornata, SAMA, male and female, from Amyema preissii
Actual
size¹:
6.9 mm
×
2.9 mm
Measurements (mm)
malefemale
L16.2
 n = 17.1
6.75 – 7.75
 n = 3
L26.0
 n = 17.0
6.65 – 7.55
 n = 3
W2.6
 n = 13.0
2.8 – 3.25
 n = 3
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
Hypocisseis ornata  Distinctive features

Head with frons strongly concave between heavy 'eyebrow-like' forward-projecting ridges that border the inner edge of the eyes; pronotum and elytral surface very uneven; colouration dark grey-brown with areas of blue reflections.

Notes

Despite its wide distribution spanning southern Australia and its common mistletoe hosts, it appears that until 2021 this species had not been collected in SA since it was first described by Carter 1923a around 100 years ago. Carter cited two localities: Lucindale in the SE Region of SA, and Geraldton in WA; the former is represented in the SA Museum by five syntype specimens.

In October 2021 I found degraded dead remains of two specimens in stems of a dead mistletoe near Milang on Fleurieu Peninsula. This prompted more systematic searching, and in the same month dead remains were discovered in the SE Region by A.M.P. Stolarski and I found a live pupa in the Adelaide foothills. Based on these and subsequent records, it is probably relatively common, at least in some of the more temperate parts of SA.

Distribution
SA Regions¹:  MU,  SL,  SE
Australian States:  WA,  SA,  VIC,  NSW
Southern South Australian occurrences
LegendP.J.Lang collection vouchered records
other private collection or museum specimens, or sightings
Satellite map
Terrain map
Enlarge map
Hypocisseis ornata Breeding record images
Hypocisseis ornata, PL5813, larva, in Amyema miquelii stem, SL, 12.5 × 2.9 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5813, larva, in Amyema miquelii stem, SL, 12.5 × 2.9 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5813, larva, in Amyema miquelii stem, SL, 12.5 × 2.9 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5813, larva, from Amyema miquelii stem, dorsal, SL, 12.5 × 2.9 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5813, larva, from Amyema miquelii stem, dorsal & oblique ventral views (above & below), SL, 12.5 × 2.9 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5525, larva, in Amyema miquelii dead stem, (remains only), SL Hypocisseis ornata, PL5526x, pupa, in Amyema miquelii (PJL 3569) stem, SL, 8.0 × 3.5 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5526x, pupa, in Amyema miquelii (PJL 3569) stem, SL, 8.0 × 3.5 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5526x, pupa, in Amyema miquelii (PJL 3569) stem, SL, 8.0 × 3.5 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5536, pupa, in Amyema miquelii stem, SE, photo by A.M.P. Stolarski, 8.0 × 3.6 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5536, pupa, in Amyema miquelii stem, SE, photo by A.M.P. Stolarski, 8.0 × 3.6 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5526, reared adult, in Amyema miquelii, SL, 6.8 × 2.8 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5526, reared adult, on Amyema miquelii, SL, 6.8 × 2.8 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5747, male, non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii stem, MU, 6.2 × 2.6 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5747, male, non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii stem, MU, 6.2 × 2.6 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5747, male, non-emerged adult, from Amyema miquelii stem, MU, 6.2 × 2.6 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5512A, dead non-emerged adult, from Amyema miquelii dead stem, SL Hypocisseis ornata, PL5512B, dead non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii dead stem section, SL Hypocisseis ornata, PL5512B, dead non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii dead stem, SL Hypocisseis ornata, PL5524, dead non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii dead stem, SE Hypocisseis ornata, PL5524, dead non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii dead stem, SE Hypocisseis ornata, PL5524, dead non-emerged adult, from Amyema miquelii dead stem, SE Hypocisseis ornata, PL5524, dead non-emerged adult, from Amyema miquelii dead stem, SE Hypocisseis ornata, PL5524, dead non-emerged adult, from Amyema miquelii dead stem, SE Hypocisseis ornata, PL5617, dead non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii stem base, SE Hypocisseis ornata, PL5617, dead non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii stem base, SE Hypocisseis ornata, PL5612A, dead non-emerged adult, in Amyema miquelii stem, dead remains partly covered with fungus, MU, photo by A.M.P.Stolarski Hypocisseis ornata, PL5749, female, dead non-emerged adult, from Amyema miquelii stem 25 mm diameter, with most fungal hyphae removed from mummified remains, MU, 6.8 × 3.0 mm Hypocisseis ornata, PL5512A, larval host plant, Amyema miquelii dead stem section, with old exit hole and small central frass-filled tunnel, SL Hypocisseis ornata, PL5512A, larval host plant, Amyema miquelii dead stem section obverse, showing central frass-filled tunnels, SL Hypocisseis ornata, PL5525, larval host plant, Amyema miquelii dead stem, with old pupal chamber and exit hole, SL Hypocisseis ornata, PL5813, larval host plant, Amyema miquelii (parasitic on Eucalyptus leucoxylon ssp. leucoxylon), SL, 12.5 × 2.9 mm
Larval host plant
records sites SA regions¹ family adult liveadult deadadult ex pupapupalarva
Amyema miquelii248MU, SL, SEL110238
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
L Loranthaceae 24 100% 1
Position in larval host
positionrecordssitesadult liveadult deadadult ex pupapupalarva
stem base111
stem23719238
Host plant notes

Strongly associated with mistletoes (Loranthaceae); Armstrong 1947 refers to adults being taken on two species of mistletoe in NSW (as 'Loranthus'), probably Amyema spp. Two more recent WA collections by R.P. McMillan in the SA Museum show that Amyema is a larval host. A pair was cut from 'from tunnels in Loranthus preissii' (now Amyema preissii) and a single individual was 'cut from Amyema'. The mistletoe A. preissii also occurs widely in SA and mainly parasitises Acacia species. The recent SA larval host records are from A. miquelii (Box Mistletoe), another common mistletoe which parasitizes a range of woodland Eucalypts in temperate areas, and a few mallee Eucalypt species also.

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.