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Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

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TaxonomyBrowse
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Genus Acmaeodera

Acmaeodera rubronotata Acmaeodera species - Acmaeodera mixta Acmaeodera amplicollis? - Acmaeodera amplicollis Acmaeodora ornata - Acmaeodera ornata Acmaeodera mixta LeConte - Acmaeodera mixta Acmaeodera sp.? - Acmaeodera immaculata Acmaeodera nigrovittata Beetle on coreopsis - Acmaeodera pulchella - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)
Superfamily Buprestoidea (Metallic Wood-boring and False Jewel Beetles)
Family Buprestidae (Metallic Wood-boring Beetles)
Subfamily Polycestinae
Tribe Acmaeoderini
Subtribe Acmaeoderina
Genus Acmaeodera
Other Common Names
Yellow-marked Buprestids, Spotted Flower Buprestids
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Acmaeodera Eschscholtz 1829
Numbers
144 spp. in 2 subgenera in our area(1), >1,800 worldwide(2)
Identification
Ventral surface of body not clothed by a dense tomentum that largely obscures the surface. Pronotum distinctly margined at least in part. Front angles of pronotum in side view are angled. Suture between abdominal sterna 1-2 obliterated or faint. Abdominal sterna 3-5 in females not distinctly clothed.
Range
worldwide except Australasia(2); in our area, widely distributed, most diverse in the southwest(1)
Habitat
usually seen on flowers(1)
Food
host plant info here(3)
Remarks
Some are pests of timber
Most beetles, including most buprestids, fly with their elytra held out and vibrating their hindwings to give lift and thrust. Acmaeodera, however, fly with their hind wings only — the elytra are fused down the center and form a shield over the insect's abdomen, even during flight. This fact, combined with the banding across the abdomen which is common (though not universal) in this genus, gives many of them a distinct wasp-like appearance when in flight. (4)
Print References
Fall, H. C. 1899. Synopsis of the species of Acmaeodera of America North of Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 7: 1-37. (Biodiversity Heritage Library)
Horn, G. H. 1878. Revision of the species of Acmaeodera of the United States. Transactions of the American Entomological Society and proceedings of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences 7: 2-27. (Biodiversity Heritage Library)
Internet References
Wikipedia - brief description (4)