Buprestidae

There are about 15000 species of Buprestidae . They are usually brightly coloured and always have some iridescence (often on the underside).

The iridescence is created by helical nanostructures in the exoskeleton. The green colours are created by left turning polarised light (as the light moves its electrical field turn to the left.This surface is made up from a complex of hexagonal, heptagonal and pentagonal cells which contain yellow cones that are surrounded by green cones, which create arcs and spiral that look very similar to liquid crystals

Counterintuitively the bright metallic colours have been shown to act as camouflage .

Whilst the adults feed off foliage or nectar, the larvae drink the phloem or eat the sapwood of the tree. As they mature within the wood they are known as metallic flat head borers and are legless.

The adults tend to have a characteristic shape -an elongate body that is tapered at the rear into a point. they are slightly flattened and have serrate antennae. The wing covers can be bumpy or ridged , and the colours vary from black to green/blue and reds-often with intricate patterns.

They have the usual beetle life cycle of egg-larva-pupa-adult , but some species can delay maturation if disturbed. The longest known delay is 51 years!

The adults tend to only live from a few days to a few weeks