A large jewel beetle, commonly exceeding 30 mm in adult length.
Fine-art photographic collection
Polybothris sumptuosa
A Madagascan jewel beetle whose “gemma” form turned colour variation into a second scientific name.
About this species
Polybothris sumptuosa(Klug, 1833)
Information reviewed17 July 2026
The gallery label Polybothris sumptuosa gemma records a historic name for an intensely blue form of Polybothris sumptuosa. Current catalogues place gemma within the accepted Madagascan species rather than recognising it as a separate subspecies.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Buprestidae · Polybothris
Accepted species; the gallery form name gemma is treated as a historical synonym within Polybothris sumptuosa. · checked 2026-07-17
MadagascarIsland-level documented range and representative anchors — not a complete occurrence map.
Madagascar
Forest and woodland containing dead, dying or stressed woody plants.
Sun-loving adults occur on trunks and woody vegetation.
Larvae bore in wood; adults use plant surfaces and may feed on foliage or bark tissues.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Klug named the species in 1833, but Obenberger later named the brilliant blue form gemma in 1928; modern catalogues reunite the two names.
Blue, green and nearly black individuals can look like different beetles while sharing the same body proportions, pronotal form and elytral sculpture.
The metallic colour is produced by the cuticle’s interaction with light, so a single specimen can change appearance dramatically as the viewing angle shifts.