Hi, thanks for your Hotline submission. You have found a native metallic wood borer, the golden buprestid, Buprestis aurulenta. Adult females lay their eggs on dead or dying conifers, mostly Douglas-fir and pine in our region. The larvae feed on wood, sometimes taking several years to complete their development. In fact, the insects sometimes completes its development after the wood has been milled into timbers and been used in construction. To this end, it is a timber pest, but it is not a tree killer nor is it an invasive species. Good find! Beautiful insect. Learn more here: https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/insects/factsheet/306

Wyatt Williams
July 14, 2017, 3:33 a.m.