Largest jewel beetle

Within the Buprestidae family, two members can attain a total length of 8 cm (3.1 in) as adults. These are the giant metallic ceiba borer, aka the metallic wood-boring beetle (Euchroma giganteum), the New World's largest species, native to Brazil and most other regions of northern South America, as well as Central America and the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Jamaica. The other is the dark green metallic wood-boring beetle Megaloxantha bicolor, the Old World's largest species, native to Australia, the Philippines and from India to Vietnam in continental Asia.

As larvae, these species are even bigger, reaching lengths of up to 15 cm (5.9 in).

Jewel beetles are named after their iridescent elytra (wing cases) that shimmer brightly like jewels and which, ironically, are often utilized in the creation of real jewellery in various Asian countries, notably Thailand, India and Japan.

Scientifically, these beetles are termed buprestids, and constitute one of the largest taxonomic families of beetle, with some 15,500 species currently described and named. Beetles (order Coleoptera) represent the most speciose group of animals on Earth with between 350,000 and 400,000 documented species; every one in four animal species on Earth today is a beetle.