two-striped green buprestid

Green metallic luster with red stripes.

Scientific name	Chrysochroa fulgidissima
English name	two-striped green buprestid
Japanese name	Tamamushi
Classification	Insecta
Classification details	Coleoptera Buprestidae
Full length	30-40mm.
Distribution	Distributed south of Honshu. Also found in East Asia.

Characteristics

A beetle with a beautiful green metallic sheen. It is about 30-40mm long. Its abdomen is spindle-shaped, with a pair of red-brown vertical stripes.

The color of its wings changes depending on how the light hits it, and it can sometimes look yellowish.

Ecology

They appear in the summer, and become active on sunny days with good weather. They fly around broadleaf forests and eat the leaves of Chinese hackberry, zelkova, and cherry trees.

They are somewhat wary, and will fly away if a person approaches. Their wing sounds are quite loud.

Habitat

Tama River riverbed

I found it flying along the roadside lined with Japanese walnuts and cherry trees on the Tama River riverbed. They were busy flying from leaf to leaf, and did not stay still for long. When he reached the trunk of the tree, he stalked off and was out of sight.