Jewel Scarab vs Painted Hickory Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Jewel Scarab Painted Hickory Borer
Scientific Name Chrysina resplendens Megacyllene caryae
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Cerambycidae
Size 25-35 mm 14-22 mm
Habitat Forests Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Omnivores
Regions Costa Rica, Panama Eastern North America
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Jewel Scarab

A beetle that appears to be made of polished gold, found in cloud forests of Central America. Its reflective shell is composed of chiral nanostructures.

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Did You Know?

Its shell reflects circularly polarized light, a property almost unique in the animal kingdom.

Painted Hickory Borer

A handsome cerambycid with white zigzag markings on dark brown elytra, breeding in dead hickory and oak in eastern North America. Adults appear in spring, unlike the autumn-active locust borer. It is frequently found on freshly cut firewood.

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Did You Know?

This species and the locust borer are near-perfect lookalikes but are separated by season: spring vs. autumn emergence.