Fire-sensitive-invertebrate
Guides
Dicerca pugionata
witch-hazel borer, ninebark borer
A striking jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae, measuring 11–14 mm in length. Unlike most Dicerca species that breed in dead wood, D. pugionata larvae mine living stems of woody shrubs. The species occurs sporadically across eastern North America but reaches locally abundant populations in Missouri glades where host plants grow under stressed conditions.