Buprestidae of South Australia
( Jewel beetles )
by Peter J. Lang
Meliboeithon intermedium   (Kerremans, 1898)
subfamily  Agrilinae » tribe  Coraebini » subtribe  unplaced
Meliboeithon intermedium   Adult images
Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, aedeagus dorsal view, SE Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm Meliboeithon intermedium, PL5974, male, shown on Juncus sp., SE, 6.6 × 2.4 mm
Actual
size¹:
6.6 mm
×
2.4 mm
Measurements (mm)
male
L16.6
n = 1
L26.5
n = 1
W2.4
n = 1
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
Meliboeithon intermedium  Distinctive features

Distinguished by its bronze-coppery colouration dorsally and by the non-hairy, metallic, subtriangular patches on the outer part of abdominal sternites, conspicuous in lateral view. Also by the pronotum sides having a distinct 'short arcuate pre-lateral carina' extending from the latero-basal angles to before the middle, plus a marginal carina extending almost to the apex.

Notes

This species has only recently been recorded for SA. In August 2022 I re-determined as M. intermedium an old Tepper collection from Ardrossan on Yorke Peninsula that was cited by Bellamy 1988 as a paratype of M. cylindricolle and labelled by him accordingly. Although the specimen is missing its abdomen, the sides of the pronotum have the distinct pre-lateral and lateral carinae that are diagnostic for this species.

In December 2023, A.M.P. Stolarski collected a live specimen from east of Lucindale in the SE Region of SA.

Distribution
SA Regions¹:  YPSE
Australian States:  SAVICNSWQLD
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 Meliboeithon intermedium  (total of 1 beetles)
1
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Legend
live emerged adults, count > median value of 1 per quarter month
live emerged adults, count <= median value of 1
live non-emerged adults only, for that quarter month
12
number of active beetles for that quarter month
Host plant notes

Bellamy 1988 cited G. Willams who reported collecting M. intermedium adults feeding on stems of Juncus in areas subject to seasonal tidal inundations, and suggested that larvae might feed in the root crown, as the stems were too narrow to accommodate them.

The single individual from the SE Region of SA was collected by sweeping both a Rush (Juncus sp., family Juncaceae) and Knobby Club-sedge (Ficinia nodosa, family Cyperaceae), making the actual adult host here uncertain.

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.