Metallic Wood Borer, Buprestis viridisuturalis (Buprestis viridisuturalis) on Sep 10, 2024

Submitter has sample

Description of specimen

Found this brightly colored bug and wasn't 100% that it's not the EAB. This is much further south than it's been reported. But I was able to catch the specimen in a jar. Didn't want to release it until 100% sure that it's not the EAB. It seems too wide to be EAB, but wasn't sure.

Commentary

Yes, you can let it go. That isn't EAB. It's a native member of the Metallic Wood-boring beetle family, Buprestis viridisuturalis. These beetles are larger and less slender than EAB. They are not tree killers.

Thank you for your report!

Tom Valente
Sept. 11, 2024, 7:45 a.m.