By SOLOMON ARTERBURN
Sheridan High School Student
This column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School dual-credit program students and Human Services teacher Abby Williams.
The jewel beetle family Buprestidae is home to many species of shiny, hard-shelled beetles. Buprestidae is one of the largest families of beetles, with around 15,500 species present today and almost 100 fossil species that have been discovered. This family of beetles is found worldwide, and their hard outer shell, known as an elytra, is commonly used in countries in Asia for decorations and jewelry.
While Buprestidae is found worldwide, there is one species in Australia that has concerned environmentalists and entomologists alike.
Entomologists, who are interested in the behaviors and lives of insects, were confused by what they saw in these creatures. The common Australian jewel beetle, Julodimorpha bakewelli, acted strangely while on beer bottles in Australia, exhibiting behaviors that mirrored their mating rituals with others of the same species. They even go as far as staying on the bottles while being eaten by other insects, starving to death, or dying of thirst.
Many people are perplexed by the activities of the small beetle, notably two entomologists on a field trip in August and September of 1981. The pair, David Rentz and Darryl Gwynne, were about to discover something quite interesting. While passing through a polluted part of Western Australia, they noticed multiple members of the species Julodimorpha bakewelli attempting to mate with different beer bottles along the side of the road. At the time, these particular bottles, 375 mL and covered in small dimples near the bottom, were referred to as a ‘stubbie.’
The pair was soon entranced by this sighting. They attempted to shake the beetles off, but the insects held firm. Surveying their surroundings, Rentz and Gwynne spotted more beetles on more stubbies. Being scientists, the team quickly decided to experiment with this. They found four empty bottles and set them near each other. In under 30 minutes, the bottles had attracted six male jewel beetles.
Rentz and Gwynne soon understood what the problem was. The jewel beetles had fallen for what is called an ‘evolutionary trap.’ This is when human influence causes animals to make mistakes leading to endangerment and even extinction. Female Julodimorpha bakewelli are much larger than males, and like the females, the bottles they were attempting to mate with are a caramel color with many small dimples along their back. The naive jewel beetles were confusing the beer bottles with the larger female jewel beetles and attempting to mate with them.
The endangerment of these Australian jewel beetles has a traceable cause: humans throwing beer bottles into the wilderness. For every easily identifiable problem that our environment faces, there are countless more that we cannot even begin to understand. How could anyone foresee beetles trying to mate with trash?
The legacy of the Australian jewel beetle is a well-needed reminder – it shows the delicate balance between nature and humans and calls for a collective effort to address pollution and preserve the only environment we have.