Tribe Agrilini Laporte, 1835

Agrilus koala [artist André Olwage]

© Copyright Commonwealth of Australia

Museums

Regional Maps

• Agrilites Laporte de Castelnau, F.L. 1835. Études entomologiqes ou descriptions d'insectes nouveaux et observations sur la synonymie, par M. F. L. de Laporte, Comte de Castelnau. Revue d'Entomologie (Caen) 3: 157-181 [165].

  Type genus:

   Agrilus Curtis, 1825 [by indication].

Introduction

As discussed previously under the subfamily heading, the Agrilini is the largest, that is both most speciose and genericly diverse higher taxon in the Buprestidae.

The concept of Agrilini by Théry (1929) is different in that he divided the tribe into two subtribes: Agrili and Traches, the former being a combination of the modern Agrilina and Coraebina; he also placed this tribe under the subfamily Buprestinae.

The two most important morphological divergences in agrilines are both found in their larvae. All known larvae possess, to one degree or another, a cleft anal segment. This ranges from a simple narrow emargination in some coraebines to a true bifurcate condition with paired, sclerotized teeth in Agrilus spp. The second adaptation is the loss of the proventriculus in the digestive tract, indicating what must be a completely different set of food habits and the digestive process.

The traditional adult morphological separation between these two tribes are the presence of a second lateral carina in the posterior half of the pronotum and a much longer first metatarsomere, in Agrilus usually as long or longer than the second through fourth together. In constrast, members of Coraebini have only a single lateral carina, sometimes it is reduced or even absent. The proportions of the metatarsomeres are closer to being about the same, subequal, or at least never with the first being much longer than the others.

Of the two groups present in Australia, the Agrilina contains only species of Agrilus, with Sambus Deyrolle recently transferred into an unplaced status from the Coraebini by the work of Kubán et al. (2001).

General References

Kubán, V., Majer, K. & Kolibác, J. 2001. Classification of the tribe Coraebini Bedel, 1921 (Coleoptera, Buprestidae, Agrilinae). Acta Musei Moraviae, Scientiae biologicae (Brno) 85: 185-287

Théry, A. 1929. Classification. pp. 266-275 in Carter, H.J. A check list of the Australian Buprestidae. With tables and keys to sub-families, tribes, and genera (by A. Théry). The Australian Zoologist 5(4): 265-304 [Date published 24 Mar 1929]

History of changes