Buprestidae of South Australia
( Jewel beetles )
by Peter J. Lang
Nascio vetusta   (Boisduval, 1835)
subfamily  Buprestinae » tribe  Nascionini » subtribe  Nascionina
Nascio vetusta   Adult images
Nascio vetusta, PL1722, female, on Eucalyptus viminalis ssp. viminalis trunk, SL, 16.6 × 6.4 mm Nascio vetusta, PL1722, female, from Eucalyptus viminalis ssp. viminalis, SL, 16.6 × 6.4 mm Nascio vetusta, PL3809, female, on Eucalyptus obliqua bark, SL, 16.5 × 6.1 mm Nascio vetusta, PL3809, female, SL, 16.5 × 6.1 mm Nascio vetusta, PL3809, female, on Eucalyptus obliqua bark, SL, 16.5 × 6.1 mm Nascio vetusta, PL3809, female, on Eucalyptus obliqua bark, SL, 16.5 × 6.1 mm
Actual
size¹:
15.8 mm
×
6.0 mm
Measurements (mm)
malefemale
L114.2
 n = 116.6
16.5 – 16.6
 n = 2
L213.9
 n = 116.2
16 – 16.4
 n = 2
W5.4
 n = 16.2
6.1 – 6.4
 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
Nascio vetusta  Distinctive features

A distinctively marked beetle with straw-yellow and dark brown colouration and sculpted pronotum; nothing else in SA resembles it.

Notes

This is a south-eastern Australian species which in SA is confined to the higher rainfall areas.

Distribution
SA Regions¹:  SL,  KI,  SE
Australian States:  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
Adult activity records for Nascio vetusta  (total actual records: 21 beetles)
1
1 2
2 7 2 3
1
2
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 > 2 (median)
actual count <= 2 (median)
Adult host plants
beetles sites SA regions¹ family position on host plant
Eucalyptus sp.94SL, SEM
Eucalyptus obliqua21SLM
*Eucalyptus gomphocephala11SLM
Eucalyptus viminalis ssp. viminalis11SLM
Pteridium esculentum ssp. esculentum11SL
Xanthorrhoea sp.11SLX
Legendbeetlescount of beetles collected from, or sighted on, host plant taxon
sitescount of major sites (unique 10 km grid cells +/- some distinct approximate localities)
*indicates alien (non-native) plant occurrences, either wild or planted (the species may be alien in SA, or native in parts of its SA range)
Plant names in green are hyperlinked to a matching host species page with plant photos.
Plant family
Code beetles % host plant taxa
M Myrtaceae 13 87% 3
U Unmatched 1 7% 1
X Xanthorrhoeaceae 1 7% 1
Position on adult host
positionbeetlessites
on foliage or non-flowering plant62
on plant (unspecified)42
other
  on bark21
  on dead branch11
  on trunk11
  under bark11
Host plant notes

Adults are often found on the trunks of Eucalypts with rough bark, including Stringybarks as well as species where the rough bark is mainly basal. One SA Museum specimen was collected from a planted Tuart, Eucalyptus gomphocephala, in Adelaide Hills. It is more commonly found on there on Messmate Stringybarks (E. obliqua).

Tepper 1887 reported the Stringybarks E. obliqua and E. baxteri (as E. capitellata) to be larval hosts, noting that 'the larva lives in the dry corky bark'. Another SA Eucalypt species, E. goniocalyx (Long-leaved Box) was identified as a larval host in NSW by Turner & Hawkeswood 1995a who found dead beetles found in dry bark and larval and pupal chambers in bark and sapwood.

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.