THE DYNAMICS OF BUPRESTIDAE (COLEOPTERA) IN ROCKY HIGHVELD GRASSLANDS OF EZEMVELO NATURE RESERVE, GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA

摘要

Buprestidae is a large family of woodboring beetles with nearly 15,000 valid species. The family is well represented in South Africa; however, the distribution and hosts of most species are unknown. The abundance of many species is generally correlated with well-wooded areas since most species' larvae inhabit dead or dying wood. Ezemvelo Nature Reserve, being predominantly grassland, has rocky ridges dominated by Acacia caffra (Thunb.) Willd., Protea caffra Meisner, and Mundulea sericea (Willd.) Chev. The majority of the larger species of buprestids were found in these areas. The smaller species, belonging to the genera Acmaeodera Eschscholtz, Anthaxia Eschscholtz, Agrilus Curtis and often very difficult to differentiate in the field, likely utilize woody forbs. The objective of this study was to compare species richness and relative abundance of buprestid in three habitats over a period of a year in Ezemvelo Nature Reserve. Results indicate that there are overlaps among species occurring in different habitats; however, certain species are host-plant specific.