Adults are approximately 28–40 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Polybothris auriventris
A Madagascan jewel beetle with a dark sculptured back and a hidden abdomen that burns green and copper.
About this species
Polybothris auriventris(Laporte & Gory, 1837)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Polybothris auriventris is a large endemic Madagascan jewel beetle whose heavily pitted upper surface contrasts with an intensely metallic underside. The hidden ventral colour is important enough to be illustrated separately in specialist treatments.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Buprestidae · Polybothris
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
MadagascarBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Madagascar
Forest and woodland containing dead or stressed trees.
Adults fly in bright warmth and rest on trunks.
Larvae bore beneath bark or in wood.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
The beetle presents two radically different surfaces: a comparatively dark, cratered back and a concealed underside that can flash saturated green and copper when the body is turned.
Each circular dorsal depression interrupts the reflection and may retain pale scale-like material, producing a field of false holes that breaks the outline against scarred bark.
Specialist Madagascan buprestid treatments illustrate auriventris both dorsally and ventrally because its most spectacular metallic surface is hidden during normal walking, making the underside part of the identification rather than incidental decoration.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Polybothris auriventris
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Polybothris auriventris
- Faune de Madagascar — Buprestidae monograph and Polybothris treatments
- Book of Beetles search for Polybothris auriventris morphology
- Biodiversity Heritage Library literature search
- GBIF image and occurrence search