Jewel beetle

The Jewel Beetle is a small, uncommon insect found on trees. It is a bright shining green. In the GCN games it is absent during rain.

Donating to the Museum
As with all insects in the series, the jewel beetle can be donated to the Museum by talking to Blathers, who will give a small speech on it.

In Animal Crossing
Blathers speech is as follows:

"The incredible jewel-like iridescence, it's so... So very... It's just so very... nauseating. Yes, that's it."

In Wild World
"I am a nocturnal creature, so this color is rather a bit too bright for me...There's also the fact that I abhor bugs to consider. Blech! Loathsome thing..."

In City Folk
Blathers speech is as follows:

"The Japanese name for the jewel beetle inspired their word for iridescence. Makes sense, I suppose... Since the beetles keep their color after death, it's said their bodies were worn as jewelry long ago. Do you suppose they left the legs and antennae on the bodies when they wore them? ...Blech."

The jewel beetle can be found in the top-most section of the Museum, to the far left, on the same tree as the Rainbow Stag (the tree closest to the light on that side).

Encyclopedia Information
When the player has caught the jewel beetle, they can find information about the insect in the bug menu. Below is the information regarding the jewel beetle:

Animal Forest e+

 * Jewel BeetleJewel Beetle cut.png

Wild World

 * Size: 35 mm.
 * Season: Summer.
 * Time: Afternoon.
 * Birds hate their coloring.

City Folk

 * Size: About 35 mm.
 * Season: Summer
 * Time: Noon
 * As their name states, these look like jewels. Birds do not like their color.

Further Information
The Japanese Jewel Beetle (Chrysochroa fulgidissima) of the family Buprestidae is native to Japan. It is known as Tamamushi in Japanese. Due to its iridescence, the true color of the bug can be difficult to determine, which is the basis of the expression tamamushi-iro in Japanese. It is used to refer to vague or unclear statements given by a politician.

Metallic colors in beetles may not be due to pigments but rather how the structure of surface of the exoskeleton refracts light, similar to many green and blue species of butterfly (i.e. Green Hairstreak, Sheridan's Hairstreak) and certain bird feather colours (such as the Blue Jay). These features have on rare occasions been preserved in fossils, some as old as 50 million years, as explained here. These beetles often appear in collections and are highly prized.