Buprestidae of South Australia
( Jewel beetles )
by Peter J. Lang
Melobasis ordinata   Levey, 2023
subfamily  Buprestinae » tribe  Melobasini » subtribe  Melobasina
Melobasis  species group: cupricollis
Melobasis ordinata   Adult images
Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, BH-PL4753, male, from Acacia melanoxylon, SE, 10.9 × 3.6 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, from Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5855, male, on Acacia pycnantha foliage, SL, 9.7 × 3.3 mm
Actual
size¹:
10.3 mm
×
3.5 mm
Measurements (mm)
male
L110.3
9.65 – 10.9
 n = 2
L210.0
9.5 – 10.5
 n = 2
W3.5
3.3 – 3.6
 n = 2
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
Melobasis ordinata  Distinctive features

Shiny, with largely (greenish-) bronze colouration and some coppery-gold, elytra with three costae of which two are quite sharply defined; ventral side with dense mid-length silvery hairs.

Notes

Melobasis ordinata extends into the south-eastern-most part of SA. The first known record there is a single adult collected in September 2005 from Honans Scrub Native Forest Reserve near Glencoe by Bryan Haywood. Bryan also discovered the first SA breeding records in August 2021 near Moorak, SW of Mt Gambier.

In September 2023, A.M.P. Stolarski and I collected a single adult on the western side of the Mt Lofty Ranges, a remarkable outlier and extension of its known range.

Previously treated on this website as Melobasis sp. Hirsute prior to its publication as a new species by Levey 2023.

Distribution
SA Regions¹:  SL,  SE
Australian States:  SA,  VIC,  NSW,  QLD
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 Melobasis ordinata  (total of 2 beetles)
1 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
Adult host plants
beetles sites SA regions¹ family position on host plant
Acacia melanoxylon11SEF
Acacia pycnantha11SLF
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 2 100% 2
Position on adult host
positionbeetlessites
on foliage or non-flowering plant11
on plant (unspecified)11
Melobasis ordinata Breeding record images
Melobasis ordinata, SID7245, larva, in Acacia mearnsii stem, SE, photo by Bryan Haywood Melobasis ordinata, SID7245, larva, dorsal view, SE, photo by Bryan Haywood Melobasis ordinata, SID7245, larva, ventral view, SE, photo by Bryan Haywood Melobasis ordinata, PL5503A, larva, from Acacia mearnsii, dorsal & ventral view, SE, 28.3 × 6.7 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5503A, larva, from Acacia mearnsii, dorsal & ventral view, SE, 28.3 × 6.7 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5503A, larva, from Acacia mearnsii, dorsal view, SE, 28.3 × 6.7 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5503A, larva, from Acacia mearnsii, ventral view, SE, 28.3 × 6.7 mm Melobasis ordinata, PL5503A, larva, from Acacia mearnsii, ventral view above & dorsal below, SE, 28.3 × 6.7 mm Melobasis ordinata, SID7244, non-emerged adult, in Acacia mearnsii stem, SE, photo by Bryan Haywood Melobasis ordinata, SID7244, non-emerged adult, in Acacia mearnsii stem, SE, photo by Bryan Haywood
Larval host plant
records sites SA regions¹ family adult livelarva
Acacia mearnsii71SEF16
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 7 100% 1
Position in larval host
positionrecordssitesadult livelarva
stem7116
Host plant notes

Blackwood Wattle (Acacia melanoxylon) and Golden Wattle (A. pycnantha) are the only adult hosts recorded in SA. In eastern States, adults have been recorded from several other Acacia species (Levey 2023), including the following which are native or established (*) in SA also: *Acacia dealbata, A. longifolia (both ssp. longifolia and ssp. sophorae), and A. suaveolens.

The SA breeding record is based on larvae and non-emerged adults found inside stems of Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii). Three other Acacia species are reported as larval hosts interstate by Levey 2023, including A. dealbata and A. longifolia.

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.