Java and nearby parts of Indonesia
Fine-art photographic collection
Cyphogastra javanica
A Javan jewel beetle shaped like a metallic shield and coloured by nanoscale optics.
About this species
Cyphogastra javanicaSaunders, 1871
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Cyphogastra javanica is an Indonesian jewel beetle with a broad, tapered body and intense green, gold, blue and copper reflections. Its colours arise from ordered structures in the cuticle rather than ordinary dyes.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Buprestidae · Cyphogastra
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Java and nearby parts of IndonesiaBroad documented range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
What makes this species remarkable?
Microscopic layers in the shell interfere with light, generating metallic hues that shift across the curved body as the viewing angle changes.
The elytra form an enlarged shield over the abdomen, narrowing toward the rear into a pointed silhouette that protects the folded flight apparatus beneath.
The flight wings unfold to a surface area many times greater than the cavity in which they are stored, then collapse along repeatable crease lines after landing.