Cercocarpus
Guides
Acmaeodera
Acmaeodera is a large genus of jewel beetles (family Buprestidae) with over 150 species in North America, reaching greatest diversity in the desert southwest and Mexico. Adults are metallic, often with distinctive color patterns, and are frequently observed visiting flowers to feed on pollen. The genus is distinguished by unique flight morphology: elytra are fused along the midline and remain closed during flight, functioning as a protective shield over the abdomen while only the hindwings provide propulsion. This trait, combined with abdominal banding in many species, creates a wasp-like appearance in flight and has led to recognition of several species as hymenopteran mimics. Larvae are wood-borers in twigs and branches of various woody plants.
Buprestidaejewel-beetlesmetallic-wood-boring-beetlesflower-visitorspollen-feederselytra-fusionflight-morphologyhymenopteran-mimicrywood-borersNorth-AmericaMexicoArizonaTexasCaliforniaNew-MexicoOklahomaAlbertaAsteraceaeCercocarpusspring-activemonsoon-activefall-activetaxonomically-difficultcollector's-itemdiurnalCerceris-preyAcmaeodera dolorosa
Acmaeodera dolorosa is a species of metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae. It is found in North America. Two subspecies are recognized: A. dolorosa dolorosa Fall, 1899 and A. dolorosa liberta Fall, 1922. The species is one of approximately two dozen jewel beetles associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) in western North America.
Acmaeodera mariposa
Mariposa Jewel Beetle
Acmaeodera mariposa is a metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, described by Horn in 1878. The species is found in North America and comprises two subspecies: A. m. mariposa and A. m. dohrni. It belongs to a group of jewel beetles associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) host plants in western North America, with confirmed breeding records from dead branches of this plant genus.
Acmaeodera mariposa dohrni
Acmaeodera mariposa dohrni is a subspecies of jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae. It is one of approximately two dozen buprestid species associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) in western North America. The species is part of the Acmaeodera mariposa complex, which includes the nominate subspecies A. m. mariposa. This subspecies has been confirmed breeding in dead branches of Cercocarpus ledifolius and is among five buprestid species exclusively associated with this host genus.
Acmaeodera nelsoni
Acmaeodera nelsoni is a species of jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae, described by Barr in 1972. It belongs to the nominate subgenus Acmaeodera (s. str.). The species has been documented as associated with Cercocarpus ledifolius (curl-leaf mountain mahogany), a host relationship confirmed through rearing records. It is one of approximately two dozen North American Buprestidae species linked to Cercocarpus hosts, with several species in this genus being Cercocarpus specialists.
Acmaeodera nexa
Acmaeodera nexa is a species of metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, first described by Henry Clinton Fall in 1922. It is one of approximately 150 species in the genus Acmaeodera in North America, a taxonomically challenging group often referred to as jewel beetles due to their metallic coloration. The species is associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) in western North America, where adults have been observed and larvae likely develop in dead branches.
Acmaeodera plagiaticauda
Acmaeodera plagiaticauda is a species of metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, described by George Henry Horn in 1878. It is one of approximately two dozen North American Buprestidae species associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany), a genus of shrubs and small trees in the rose family. Nine species in this association have been confirmed as breeding within dead branches of Cercocarpus, with five species, including A. plagiaticauda, having been recorded exclusively from this host genus. The species is distributed in western North America, particularly in mountainous regions where its host plant occurs.
Acmaeodera pubiventris pubiventris
Acmaeodera pubiventris pubiventris is a subspecies of jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae, native to western North America. It belongs to the nominate subspecies of Acmaeodera pubiventris. Adults are active during summer months and have been associated with woody host plants in the genus Cercocarpus.
Acmaeodera rubrocuprea
Acmaeodera rubrocuprea is a species of metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, described by Westcott & Nelson in 2000. The species is known from the southwestern United States and Mexico. It has been confirmed as breeding exclusively within dead branches of Cercocarpus ledifolius (curl-leaf mountain mahogany), making it one of five buprestid species associated exclusively with this host genus. The specific epithet 'rubrocuprea' refers to its reddish-copper coloration.
Acmaeodera variegata
Acmaeodera variegata is a metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, native to North America. The species was described by LeConte in 1852. It has been collected from flowers of Fallugia paradoxa (Apache plum) and Verbesina encelioides (cowpen daisy) in Arizona, and is associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) as a larval host. The species is part of the diverse Acmaeodera fauna of western North America.
Agnippe abdita
Agnippe abdita is a small gelechiid moth with a wingspan of 8.5–9 mm, recorded from Utah, Arizona, and California. Adults are active in March. The larvae feed on Cercocarpus ledifolius and Cercocarpus montanus, with larval presence varying by region: March in southern California, June in eastern California and Utah.
Cercocarpopsallus
Cercocarpopsallus is a genus of plant bugs in the family Miridae, described by Schuh in 2006. The genus name references Cercocarpus, a genus of mountain mahogany plants (Rosaceae), suggesting a potential host association. As a recently described and poorly documented genus, it is known from very few records.
Chrysobothris piuta
Chrysobothris piuta is a species of metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae. It is found in North America. The species has been documented as breeding within dead branches of Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany), with which it has a confirmed host association. It is one of approximately two dozen jewel beetle species associated with Cercocarpus in North America.
Chrysobothris purpureovittata cercocarpi
Chrysobothris purpureovittata cercocarpi is a subspecies of jewel beetle described from a population at Cloudcroft, New Mexico, associated exclusively with mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus). It is distinguished from the nominate subspecies by having an entirely red pronotum and uniformly dark elytra. The species belongs to a genus where most members exhibit host specificity, though the nominate subspecies is notably polyphagous. This western population represents a rare case of host specialization within an otherwise generalist species.
Coptodisca cercocarpella
curl-leaf mountain mahogany leafminer
Coptodisca cercocarpella is a small moth in the family Heliozelidae, described by Annette Frances Braun in 1925. It is known as the curl-leaf mountain mahogany leafminer, indicating its association with mountain mahogany plants (Cercocarpus). The species occurs in western North America, with records from Arizona, California, Utah, and Colorado. As a leafminer, its larvae feed within leaf tissue, creating distinctive feeding patterns.
Dicerca hornii hornii
Dicerca hornii hornii is a subspecies of jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae, native to western North America. The species is one of approximately two dozen buprestid beetles associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) in North America, with nine species confirmed as breeding within dead branches of this host plant genus. Like other members of the genus Dicerca, adults exhibit cryptic coloration that renders them nearly invisible against the bark of their host trees. The subspecies is part of a group of woodboring beetles that colonize dead or dying woody vegetation.
Ethmia discostrigella
mountain-mahogany moth
Ethmia discostrigella, commonly known as the mountain-mahogany moth, is a small moth in the family Depressariidae. It occurs across western North America from the western United States south into Mexico. The species exhibits notable geographic variation, with two recognized subspecies occupying distinct ranges separated by the Sierra Nevada: the nominate subspecies east of the Sierra Nevada and subspecies subcaerulea west of the range. Larvae feed on Cercocarpus species (mountain-mahogany), making this a host-specialist moth with clear ecological ties to its namesake plant.
Ethmia semitenebrella
Ethmia semitenebrella is a moth in the family Depressariidae, first described by Dyar in 1902. It is distributed across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, with a bivoltine flight period from April to August. The species is characterized by distinct wing patterning with dark gray forewing costal halves contrasting with whitish gray dorsal halves. Larvae feed on Cercocarpus ledifolius and likely other Cercocarpus species.
Iridopsis clivinaria
mountain mahogany looper moth
Iridopsis clivinaria is a geometrid moth commonly known as the mountain mahogany looper moth. Adults have a wingspan of approximately 22–25 mm. The species has a single annual generation and is active from spring through early summer. Larvae are specialized feeders on woody shrubs in western North America.
Pexopsylla cercocarpi
Pexopsylla cercocarpi is a species of jumping plant louse (family Psyllidae) described by Jensen in 1957. The specific epithet "cercocarpi" indicates an association with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany), a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae. Like other psyllids, this species is likely a phloem-feeding specialist on its host plant. The genus Pexopsylla is part of the diverse psyllid fauna of western North America.
Phlepsanus vanduzeei
Phlepsanus vanduzeei is a species of jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae. It was originally described as Acmaeodera vanduzeei by Van Dyke and later transferred to the genus Phlepsanus. The species is associated with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany) host plants in western North America. Like other members of the genus, it is a wood-boring beetle whose larvae develop within dead branches of its host plant.
Phytocoris cercocarpi
Phytocoris cercocarpi is a species of plant bug in the family Miridae, described by Knight in 1928. The species epithet 'cercocarpi' indicates an association with Cercocarpus (mountain mahogany), a genus of woody shrubs in the Rosaceae family. This species is part of the large and diverse genus Phytocoris, which contains numerous plant-feeding mirid bugs.
Satyrium behrii
Behr's Hairstreak
Satyrium behrii, the Behr's hairstreak, is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae found in western North America. Adults have a wingspan of 24–32 mm and are active from June to July in a single annual generation. The species inhabits dry slopes and canyons, where adults feed on flower nectar and larvae feed on specific host plants in the Rosaceae family.
Satyrium tetra
mountain mahogany hairstreak
Satyrium tetra, the mountain mahogany hairstreak, is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. As a member of the hairstreak group, it exhibits the characteristic small size and hindwing tail-like projections typical of this lineage. The species is associated with mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus) as its larval host plant, distinguishing it ecologically from related Satyrium species that feed on oaks. Adults have been documented through over 1,000 iNaturalist observations, indicating it is not considered rare.