Species Melobasis purpurascens (Fabricius, 1801)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Buprestis purpurascens Fabricius, J.C. 1801. Systema Eleutheratorum secundum ordines, genera, species: adiectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Kiliae : Bibliopolii Academici Novi Vol. II 687 pp. [217].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) ZMUC Fabricius catalogue 2597 1 specimen, sex unknown, nova Cambria; ZMK Fabricius catalogue 2597 1 specimen, sex unknown, nova Cambria.

  Secondary source:

   Zimsen, E. 1964. The Type Material of I.C. Fabricius. Copenhagen : Munksgaard 656 pp. [157].
• Apatura purpureosignata Laporte de Castelnau, F.L. & Gory, H.L. 1837. Histoire Naturelle et Iconographie des Insectes Coléoptères. Monographie des Buprestides. Histoire naturelle de iconographie des insectes Coléoptères. Monographie des buprestides. Buprestis, Nascio, Acherusia, Asthraeus, Bulis, Acantha, Apatura. Paris : P. Duménil Vol. 1(12–16) 65-160 pp. [6].

  Type data:

   Holotype MNHP sex unknown, Java.
• Melobasis faceta Thomson, J. 1879. Typi Buprestidarum Musaei Thomsoniani, Appendix 1a. Paris : E. Deyrolle 87 pp. [18].

  Type data:

   Holotype MNHP sex unknown, Morton-Bay, QLD.
• Melobasis miranda Kerremans, C. 1898. Buprestides nouveaux de l'Australie et des régiones voisines. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique (Comptes-rendus) 42: 113-182 [128].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH sex unknown, Melbourne, VIC.
• Melobasis purpurascens anchoralis Obenberger, J. 1942. De generis Melobasis Cast. et Gory speciebus novis (Col. Bupr.). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 20: 99-106 [104] [unavailable name, variety of purpurascens (Fabricius, 1801)].

  Type data:

   Holotype NMPC 22021 sex unknown, Australia.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Carter, H.J. 1923. A revision of the Australian species of the genus Melobasis (Fam. Buprestidae, Order Coleoptera), with notes on allied genera. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 1923(1–2): 64–105, pls I,II [80]
• Bellamy, C.L. & Peterson, M. 2000. Contributions to the taxonomy of Australian Buprestidae (Coleoptera) Part I. New synonymy, combinations, and names. Folia Heyrovskyana 8(2): 72–100 [31 Oct. 2000] [93] (synonymy of variety anchoralis)

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria

IBRA and IMCRA regions

drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones

IBRA

NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Kanmantoo (KAN), King (KIN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Other Regions

Lord Howe Island terrestrial & freshwater

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Lord Howe Island
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Adult: diurnal, herbivore (associated flora: Acacia melanoxylon R.Br. [FABACEAE] Blackwood; Corymbia tessellaris (F.Muell.) K.D.Hill & L.A.S.Johnson [MYRTACEAE] Carbeen, Manna Gum, Moreton Bay Ash; Acacia cincinnata F.Muell. [FABACEAE] Coin Spot Wattle; Banksia marginata Cav. [PROTEACEAE] Silver Banksia; Acacia longifolia (Andrews) Willd. [FABACEAE] Sydney Golden Wattle; Leptospermum flavescens Sm. [MYRTACEAE] Tantoon; Leptospermum flavescens Sm. [MYRTACEAE] Tantoon; Ozothamnus ferrugineus (Labill.) Sweet [ASTERACEAE] Tree Everlasting; Leptospermum polygalifolium Salisb. [MYRTACEAE]; Acacia ingramii Tindale [FABACEAE]), volant.

Larva: wood-borer (associated flora: Flindersia australis R.Br. [FLINDERSIACEAE] Australian Teak; Acacia melanoxylon R.Br. [FABACEAE] Blackwood; Acacia sophorae (Labill.) R.Br. [FABACEAE] Coastal Wattle; Acacia concurrens Pedley [FABACEAE] Curracabah; Acacia irrorata Sieber ex Spreng. [FABACEAE] Green Wattle; Clerodendrum floribundum R.Br. [LAMIACEAE] Lolly Bush; Excoecaria agallocha L. [EUPHORBIACEAE] Milky Mangrove; Acacia mucronata Willd. ex H.L.Wendl. [FABACEAE] Narrow-leaf Wattle; Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck [RUTACEAE] Orange; Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck [RUTACEAE] Orange; Citrus limonia Osbeck [RUTACEAE] Rangpur Lime; Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco [MYRSINACEAE] River Mangrove; Acacia dealbata Link [FABACEAE] Silver Wattle; Acacia terminalis (Salisb.) J.F.Macbr. [FABACEAE] Sunshine Wattle; Acacia longifolia (Andrews) Willd. [FABACEAE] Sydney Golden Wattle; Citrus sp. [RUTACEAE]).

Extra Ecological Information

Hawkeswood & Peterson (1982) summarized the earlier host records by Froggatt (1895) and Fricke (1964); Williams & Williams (1983) recorded this species from Acacia longifolia and Leptospermum flavescens; Hawkeswood (1986) recorded this species extracted from timber of Flindersia australis (Rutaceae); Hawkeswood (1993) added Acacia ingramii as an adult host; Cowie (2001) recorded this species from Eucalyptus viminalis, Acacia dealbata and Banksia marginata. Williams (1982) recorded this species (with a question mark) taken at a high intensity mercury vapour light.

Associated Flora References

Bashford, R. 1990. Tasmanian forest insects and their host plants. Records from the Tasmanian Forestry Commission Insect Collection. Government Printer, Hobart. 32 pp. [12] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Bashford, R. 1991. Wood-boring Coleoptera and associated insects reared from Acacia dealbata Link in Tasmania. Australian Entomological Magazine 18: 103-109 [105] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Bashford, R. 1997. Records of insects associated with Acacia dealbata Link. in Tasmania. Australian Entomologist 24: 109-115 [111] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Bellamy, C.L. 2002. Coleoptera: Buprestoidea. In Houston, W.W.K. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 29.5. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. pp. XII 491 +4 colour pls [161] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Bellamy, C.L., Williams, G.A., Hasenpusch, J. & Sundholm, A. 2013. A summary of the published data on host plants and morphology of immature stages of Australian jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), with additional new records. Insecta Mundi 0293: 1-172 [64] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Brooks, J.G. 1965. North Queensland Coleoptera - their food and host plants. III. North Queensland Naturalist 32(138): 29-30 [30] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Cowie, D. 2001. Jewel Beetles of Tasmania. Hobart : Tasmanian Field Naturalists' Club Inc. 41 pp. [30] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Faithfull, I. 1997. Three Melobasis species (Buprestidae) reared from Acacia sophorae (Mimosaceae) from Saint Margaret Island, South Gippsland, Victoria. Victorian Entomologist 27(2): 23-26 [23] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Froggatt, W.W. 1895. Life histories of Australian Coleoptera. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 20: 325-336 [333] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Goudie, J.C. 1920. Notes on the Coleoptera of north-western Victoria. Part VIII. Victorian Naturalist 37: 28-34 [30] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Hawkeswood, T.J. 1986. A list and notes on the Buprestidae (Coleoptera) collected during 1977-79 from the Armidale district, New South Wales. Contributions to Australian Biological Science 1: 1-12 (Leptospermum flavescens)

Hawkeswood, T.J. 1986. New larval host records for eight Australian jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 3: 173-177 [174] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Hawkeswood, T.J. 1993. A list and notes on some Buprestidae (Coleoptera) from the Armidale area, New South Wales, Australia. Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 6: 437-447 [439] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Hawkeswood, T.J. 2006. Review of the biology of Melobasis purpurascens (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Calodema 5: 5-8 [5] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Hawkeswood, T.J. 2011. Review of the biology and host plants for the Australian species of the genus Melobasis Laporte & Gory, 1837 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Calodema 183: 1-23 [2, 11] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Hawkeswood, T.J. & Peterson, M. 1982. A review of larval host records for Australian jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Victorian Naturalist 99: 240-251 [243] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Hockey, M.J. & DeBaar, M. 1988. Insects of the Queensland mangroves. Part 2 (Coleoptera). The Coleopterists Bulletin 42(2): 157-160 [158] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Turner, J. & Hawkeswood, T.J. 1994. A note on the larval host plant and biology of Melobasis apicalis MacLeay (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from Australia. Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 7: 97-102 [101] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Turner, J. & Hawkeswood, T.J. 1996. A note on the larval host plants and biology of Melobasis cupriceps (Kirby) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from Australia. Mauritiana (Altenburg) 16: 81-86 [84] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Turner, J. & Hawkeswood, T.J. 1997. A new larval host plant for Melobasis apicalis MacLeay and M. cupriceps (Kirby) from Australia (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 7: 261-264 [262] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Turner, J. & Hawkeswood, T.J. 1997. A note on the larval host plant and biology of Melobasis nervosa (Boisduval) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from Australia. Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 7: 257-260 [258] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Turner, J.R. 2001. Acacia chalkeri Maiden the first recorded larval host plant for Melobasis vittata Blackburn (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from Australia. Jewel Beetles 10: 58-62 [61] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Webb, G.A. 1994. The insect fauna inhabiting the wood of some Acacia spp. in south-eastern Australia. Victorian Entomologist 24: 80-92 [85] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Webb, G.A. 1997. Patterns in the use of Acacia longifolia (Andr.) Willd. (Mimosaceae) by wood-boring insects. Victorian Entomologist 27: 54-62 [59, 61] (Leptospermum flavescens)

Williams, G.A. & Williams, T. 1983. A list of the Buprestidae (Coleoptera) of the Sydney basin, New South Wales, with adult food plant records and biological notes on food plant associations. Australian Entomological Magazine 9(6): 81-93 [86] (Leptospermum flavescens)

 

General References

Bashford, R. 1991. Wood-boring Coleoptera and associated insects reared from Acacia dealbata Link in Tasmania. Australian Entomological Magazine 18: 103-109 [106] (host, parasite)

Burns, G.G. & Burns, A.J. 1992. The distribution of Victorian jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) - an ENTRECS project. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Victoria 5: 1-53 [8] (Map 50)

Carter, H.J. 1929. 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] [285]

Cowie, D. 2001. Jewel Beetles of Tasmania. Hobart : Tasmanian Field Naturalists' Club Inc. 41 pp. [30] (host and distribution)

Fricke, F. 1964. A note on Melobasis purpurascens F. (Col.: Buprestidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of Australia (N.S.W.) 2: 9 [9]

Froggatt, W.W. 1895. Life histories of Australian Coleoptera. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 20: 325-336 (larval host note)

Hawkeswood, T.J. 1986. New larval host records for eight Australian jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 3: 173-177 [174] (larval host plant)

Hawkeswood, T.J. 1993. A list and notes on some Buprestidae (Coleoptera) from the Armidale area, New South Wales, Australia. Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 6: 437-447 [439] (host note)

Hawkeswood, T.J. & Peterson, M. 1982. A review of larval host records for Australian jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Victorian Naturalist 99: 240-251 [243] (larval food plant)

Masters, G. 1886. Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of Australia. Part III. Lucanidae and Scarabaeidae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2 1: 21-126 [74] (2685)

Obenberger, J. 1930. Buprestidae 2. pp. 213-568 in Junk, W. & Schenkling, S. (eds). Coleopterorum Catalogus. Berlin : W. Junk Vol. 111. [434]

Obenberger, J. 1930. Buprestidae 2. pp. 213-568 in Junk, W. & Schenkling, S. (eds). Coleopterorum Catalogus. Berlin : W. Junk Vol. 111. [434] (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement purpureosignata, miranda as varieties)

Olliff, A.S. 1889. The insect fauna of Lord Howe Island. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 2(4): 75-98 [83]

Williams, G.A. 1982. A note on Buprestidae (Coleoptera) observed at lights. Australian Entomological Magazine 8(6): 81 [81]

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
03-Oct-2024	BUPRESTIDAE Leach, 1815	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED
16-Jun-2022	BUPRESTIDAE Leach, 1815	10-Sep-2024	MODIFIED
04-Aug-2021	BUPRESTIDAE Leach, 1815	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED
24-Dec-2020	BUPRESTOIDEA	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED
01-Jul-2020	POLYPHAGA	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED	Max Beatson
05-Mar-2019	BUPRESTIDAE Leach, 1815	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED
05-Mar-2019	Buprestinae Leach, 1815	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED
05-Mar-2019	Buprestinae Leach, 1815	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED
28-Jan-2014	BUPRESTIDAE Leach, 1815	03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Federica Turco (QM)
10-Oct-2012		10-Oct-2012	MOVED
13-Nov-2012		03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED
		03-Oct-2024	MODIFIED