For nearly 30 years, jewel beetles (family Buprestidae) have
been my primary research interest. While some species in this
family have long been regarded as forest and landscape pests, my
interest in the group has a more biosystematic focus. A faunal
survey of Missouri was the result of my initial efforts (MacRae
1991), while later research has focused on distributions and
larval host associations of North American species (Nelson &
MacRae 1990; Nelson et al. 1996; MacRae & Nelson 2003; MacRae
2004, 2006) and descriptions of new species from both North
America (Nelson & MacRae 1994, MacRae 2003b) and South America
(MacRae 2003a). Research interest in other groups—especially
longhorned beetles and tiger beetles, has come and gone over the
past three decades; however, I always return to jewel beetles as
my first and favorite group. In recent years, one species in
particular—the emerald ash borer (EAB, Agrilus planipennis) has
garnered a huge amount of research, regulatory, and public
interest after reaching Nor