Adults are approximately 25–35 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Lampropela rothschildi
A Madagascan jewel beetle whose circular pale marks sit on a mirror-dark shell like false eyes cut into polished metal.
About this species
Lampropela rothschildiThéry, 1905
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Lampropela rothschildi is a rare Madagascan jewel beetle known for a broad, glossy body and sharply contrasting pale maculae. It belongs to an island fauna with many highly localised buprestid lineages.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Buprestidae · Lampropela
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
MadagascarBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Madagascar
Dry or humid forest depending on locality, associated with woody host plants.
Adults are active in warmth and sunlight on trunks or foliage.
Adults feed on plant tissues or foliage; larvae develop within wood.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
The paired cream rings on the wing cases create conspicuous false targets on a body otherwise dark enough to mirror its surroundings, potentially drawing an attack away from the head and legs.
Its lustre is produced by the architecture of the cuticle, not by a layer of metallic paint; changing the viewing angle changes which wavelengths return to the observer.
The species belongs to Madagascar’s isolated jewel-beetle fauna, so the combination of black mirror surface and ring-shaped markings was assembled in an evolutionary laboratory separated from mainland Africa for tens of millions of years.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Lampropela rothschildi
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Lampropela rothschildi
- Original taxonomic treatment and historical literature for Lampropela rothschildi
- Catalogue of Madagascan Buprestidae and island biogeographic context
- Review of multilayer structural colour and iridescence in beetles