During the latter half of the 20th century, French and Malagasy entomologists discovered that nest-provisioning wasps (Hymenoptera: Sphecoidea: Philanthidae: Cerceris Latreille) were using small jewel beetles (Buprestidae) as their primary prey. The beetles are paralyzed by the sting of female wasps and then carried back to the nests, whereupon an egg is laid and the emerging larva feeds on the beetle before pupating inside the hollow body.  By following the wasps and learning to recognize their burrows or nests, these entomologists were able to dig up many comatose beetles, which lay in perfect or near-perfect condition, and return them for preparation and permanent museum storage.

The predator-prey relationship between certain species of Cerceris and buprestids has been widely reported for various parts of the world (e.g. general: Cartwright, 1931; Inglebert, 1993; Scullen and Wold, 1969; Trinidad: Callan, 1990; Fisher, 1944; North America: Evans and Rubinik, 1978; Grossbeck, 1912; Hook and Evans, 1991; Kurczewski and Miller, 1984; Linsley and MacSwain, 1956; Japan: Ohmomo and Usuba, 1997).

There are thousands of specimens in the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, prepared and labelled, representing a large number of mostly undescribed species.  From an initial attempt to sort and arrange these specimens by the former head of the Coleoptera Department, the late A. Descarpentries, an estimate of the size of this fauna is between 500-600 undescribed species, which may require between 20-30 new genera to contain them.  It seems clear from the literature, as well as from the examples of other buprestid prey in this material, that the Cerceris predators are not particular to coraebine buprestids, nor possibly even just buprestids.  There are large series of other buprestid species (e.g. Sponsor Gory and Laporte, see Descarpentries, 1965; Anthaxia Eschscholtz, see Descarpentries, 1967) that are each of about the same general size and shape as the many coraebine species and this suggests that the predators are perhaps more selective about the physical characteristics of the prey, perhaps to be able to contain them within specific morphological adaptations to maintain a hold. Krombein (1981: 8) correlated structure and function when he described and figured the “buprestid clamp” found in members of the “bupresticida group” of Cerceris, including species from Sri Lanka, Europe and North America.

The described complement of these beetles is 29 genera, one subgenus, 104 species and one subspecies. The single related taxon, Coraebastus quinquepustulatus Fairmaire, from the Comoro Islands is included with the reinstatement from synonymy of Coraebastus imperatrix (Obenberger) from Madagascar.

Abbreviations used in the catalogue are: nom. nov. = nomen novum; nom. nud. = nomen nudem; nom. superfl. = superfluous name, i.e. a replacement name that was unnecessary; orig. desc. = original description; rev. = revision; ssp. key = species key; syn. = synonym; syn. nov. = new synonym;  unvn. = unavailable name, i.e. infrasubspecific names, nomina nuda; var. = variety, variation.