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CHRISTMAS BEETLE FACTS |
Identification
Christmas Beetles are scarab beetles that are most active in the warmer summer months. They are large shiny beetles that are often seen around the house at night crawling on the ground or flying around (and into) the house. It is a pale brown beetle with irregular rows of small brown spots along the elytra.
Size
length 20mm
Food
They feed on eucalypt leaves and can cause severe leaf loss when numbers are high.
Breeding
Christmas Beetles lay their eggs in the soil. The larvae develop in the soil for about a year feeding on organic matter and plant roots of grass and other vegetation. On farms they ay feed on the roots of crops and pasture. In gardens they may feed on the roots of lawn turf causing yellow patches in the grass. The larvae pupate in late winter emerging as adults a few weeks later.
Classification
| Class: | Insecta | | Order: | Coleoptera | | Family: | Scarabaeidea | | Genus: | Anoplognathus | | Species: | pallidicollis | | Common Name: | Christmas Beetle |
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