Pistachio Goldbug - Capnodis cariosa Pall.
These beetles are called goldbugs due to their bright metallic shiny elytra, which many of their representatives possess. In folk terms, these beetles are referred to as "children of the sun." They are so incredibly beautiful that humans have used them as decorations. Brooches, bracelets, and other trinkets are made from the elytra of goldbugs. The bright elytra of goldbugs are sewn onto women's dresses.
The pistachio goldbug is a large beetle with an elongated body measuring 27–40 mm in length. The elytra have large dotted transverse spots and regular grooves. The pronotum has large mirror-like spots. The beetle is black on top, with a chalky-white coating in the areas of the dotted spots on the pronotum and elytra.
The flight of the beetles occurs in May-June. The greatest activity of the beetles is noted on bright sunny days. The beetles are very cautious and, when threatened, they quickly move to the opposite side of a branch or drop to the ground. Females lay eggs in the soil at the root collar of plants. A female can lay from 50-100 eggs up to 1000 in the southern part of its range. The larvae find the roots of host trees by smell. They then burrow into the roots and create characteristic tunnels within the wood. The duration of larval development in a temperate climate lasts two years. The larvae overwinter inside their tunnels. Upon reaching the final developmental stage, the larva prepares a chamber for pupation.
The last wintering of the larva occurs in this chamber. The pupal stage does not exceed ten days. In the southern regions of the range, the beetles emerge from their pupae in the fall and winter either in the chambers or in the forest litter.
The species in the larval and imago stages can harm seedlings and young fruit trees. The beetles gnaw at the bark of young branches, leaf petioles, and can chew on the buds of fruit trees, preferring stone fruits. They damage cherries, plums, apricots, almonds, and other stone fruit species. In the absence of fruit trees, they inhabit the roots of willows, poplars, sumacs, blackthorns, and other wild-growing species. The economic significance of this species as a pest is greatest in southern regions with arid climates.
Distribution: Pre-Fergana regions of Kyrgyzstan.
Insects of Kyrgyzstan