Our insect of the week for September 1, 2025, is Texania campestris (Say, 1823). [COLEOPTERA: Buprestidae]. It is commonly called the hardwood heartwood buprestid. It also belongs to the family commonly called metallic wood boring beetles (just like the beetle featured in the previous couple of weeks). Seemed like a good idea to focus on a family for a month. May well do this again for the rest of this month. It is found in North America and is native to central Illinois.

The larvae often burrow just under the bark of beech and sycamore trees. Some adults have been observed on oak trees as well. This species plays a role in recycling nutrients in dead/ dying hardwood trees. It was described by the American entomologist, Thomas Say in 1823. I have often encountered adults of this species when using a beating sheet on tree limbs in central Illinois.

The insect in this photograph was collected by Mark DuBois in Marshall County, Illinois using a Malaise trap. The image was generated by stacking multiple photos together to make this high resolution composite image.