Acmaeodera sp - Acmaeodera amabilis

Acmaeodera amabilis Horn

I did not know this one so I sent it along to Rick and he IDed it has Acmaeodera amabilis Horn. I do not know many bups from the west and this genus has alot of species out there.

… Joshua P. Basham, 19 November, 2006 - 8:15pm

Thanks

Joshua - figured you would be able to get it narrowed down. Guess I shouldn't be surprised that the tiny bit of red, mixed with yellow in one spot would make it different.

… Bob Beatson, 20 November, 2006 - 5:14pm

Thanks to Rick, he is the one

Thanks to Rick, he is the one that knew what it was. Like I said, I don't know many Acmaeodera out west. I think there is only 4 here in the east and I am excluding 2 in Florida that are not common.

… Joshua P. Basham, 20 November, 2006 - 7:13pm

Thanks

for passing the image on to Rick, and pass the thanks on to him as well!

… Bob Beatson, 20 November, 2006 - 10:02pm

Acmaeodera rubronotata (Buprestidae)

Check here.

… Adalbert Goertz, 16 November, 2006 - 5:52pm

If so, and I doubt it, markings would be *highly* variable.

I really see very little similarity.

… Jim McClarin, 16 November, 2006 - 9:24pm

Could it be Acmaeodera hepburni?

Maybe you already gave this one a thumbs down, but it looks about right to my unpracticed eyes. I'd posted the following image at Bug Guide, where it was IDed, but can't find it here now. Here it is at another site:

http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/coleopt/Acmaeodora.htm

… Ron Hemberger, 16 November, 2006 - 10:35am

I'm

only guessing, but I suspect the red at the posterior of my beetle makes it something other than hepburni. That said, I've wondered about the range of variability within a species of Acmaeodera. I hope Joshua, Jim or some other beetle expert will weigh in.

… Bob Beatson, 16 November, 2006 - 11:36am

Sat in some nail polish?

I didn't see that marking. The variability of some critters just astonishes me, though I'm not quite sure why. In my tai chi class were a tiny Asian lady and a huge Anglo who were doing a two-person exercise together. I remember musing about the variations in our species at that time.

… Ron Hemberger, 16 November, 2006 - 4:00pm