''Gyascutus allenrolfeae'' is a large species of

buprestid Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some ...

metallic wood-boring beetle endemic to the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizon ...

Description

''Gyascutus allenrolfeae'' is a large buprestid beetle, averaging 16.8-19.5mm in length for adults. Adult males are somewhat smaller than adult females, with both showing a brassy-gray coloration.

Distribution and habitat

''Gyascutus allenrolfeae'' is found only in alkali flats and desert lowlands within the western

, with the species most frequently seen near the shores of the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gu ...

. Records also exist from near

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

and as far south as Bahia Santa Maria south of San Felipe in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. It is always found associated with its host plant,

iodine bush ''Allenrolfea occidentalis'', the iodine bush, is a low-lying shrub of the Southwestern United States, California, Idaho, and northern Mexico.Shultz, L.M.: 'eFloras 2008''Allenrolfea occidentalis'' in Flora of North America Missouri Botanical Ga ...

Ecology

Larvae feed in the roots of

. Adults emerge in summer and can be found between late June and August.

Etymology

The specific name ''allenrolfeae'' refers to the species' sole host plant ''

Allenrolfea occidentalis ''Allenrolfea occidentalis'', the iodine bush, is a low-lying shrub of the Southwestern United States, California, Idaho, and northern Mexico.Shultz, L.M.: 'eFloras 2008''Allenrolfea occidentalis'' in Flora of North America Missouri Botanical G ...

'', or iodine bush.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14922759 Fauna of California Insects described in 2000 Buprestidae