Buprestis aurulenta
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Buprestis aurulenta, commonly known as the golden jewel beetle or golden buprestid, is a species of beetle in the genus Buprestis. The larvae of Buprestis aurulenta live inside a variety of coniferous trees and can survive for long periods in dry wood. The adult beetle is an iridescent green, with shining orange trim all around the wing covers.
The beetles are found in the Pacific Northwest as far north as southern British Columbia and southward through the Rocky Mountains to Mexico. They are rare in Alberta, and specimens have been collected in Manitoba. On May 27, 1983, a golden jewel beetle emerged from a staircase in Essex, UK, after at least 47 years as a larva. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Golden Buprestid Beetle sighting in Yosemite National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 69th most-seen of the 227 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Golden Buprestid Beetle in Yosemite National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. That is one of Yosemite National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 220 mm in January.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden Buprestid Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Golden Buprestid Beetle sightings, Yosemite National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 10%) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Golden Buprestid Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Yosemite National Park (27 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
