What do Christmas Beetles look like?
Christmas Beetles are easy to spot; their shimmering metallic bodies set them apart. A lot of Christmas beetles come in golden brown or green colours, but the further north you travel in Australia, the more amazing their colours can be. In northern Queensland, you can even find Christmas beetles that are violet or have colourings a bit like an opal.
There are around 35 different types of Christmas beetle found in Australia. Most grow to about 3 centimetres in length.
Where are Christmas Beetles found?
Christmas Beetles are found all across Australia, except our deserts. They especially love woodlands. Christmas beetles emerge each summer around Christmastime after waiting underground all year.
The most commonly seen type of Christmas Beetle is Anoplognathus pallidicollis. It is brown in colour and grows up to 2 centimetres. It is found along the eastcoast of Australia from Queensland through to Victoria and some parts of South Australia.
Fast facts:
- The Christmas beetle is a type of scarab beetle and is related to the rhinoceros beetle and dung beetle.
- Heavy spring rains and thunderstorms provide the perfect conditions for Christmas beetles to hatch out of the soil. Long droughts and very dry conditions that make it harder for their babies to hatch.
Christmas Beetles – the full story
Christmas beetles emerge each summer around Christmastime after waiting underground all year. They are easy to spot; their shimmering metallic bodies set them apart from a lot of the insect world. There are around 35 different types of Christmas beetle found in Australia. Most grow to about 3 centimetres in length.
A lot of Christmas beetles come in golden brown or green colours, but the further north you travel in Australia, the more amazing their colours can be. In northern Queensland, you can even find Christmas beetles that are violet or have colourings a bit like an opal. Christmas beetles have clubbed antennae and spiky legs that help them grip on to leaves as they eat, but if you disturb an adult Christmas beetle in a tree it will just fall to the ground.
The most commonly seen species of Christmas Beetle is Anoplognathus pallidicollis. It is brown in colour and grows up to 2 centimetres. It is found along the eastcoast of Australia from Queensland through to Victoria and some parts of South Australia.
If you leave a light on during hot summer nights—especially in the east of Australia – you may find these nocturnal flying Christmas decorations in a bit of a frenzy in its glow.
Christmas beetles are not the most coordinated critters in your backyard. After a big night of flying around bright streetlights they can get a little woozy, but Christmas beetles are very gentle buddies to have. If they land on you it’s a great opportunity to say hello and take a closer look at their beautiful colourings.
Christmas beetle babies are c-shaped grubs that spend a whole year growing up in small chambers just underneath the surface of the soil. They eat plant roots and decaying organic matter, so keep your grass well nourished and mulch your garden regularly to provide plenty of baby Christmas beetle food. The larvae hatch at the end of Spring, which is why you will see the adults around just before Christmas, depending on the weather. Thunderstorms can encourage lots of beetles to the surface, but dry years may mean you don’t see many at all.
Adult Christmas beetles love to eat the leaves right at the top of Eucalyptus trees. Preserving your local native eucalypts and planting a few in your garden provides a smorgasbord for the annual Christmas beetle gathering.
Enjoy their beautiful colours, but if they overstay their welcome, just turn off your outside lights or pull down the blinds and they’ll know it’s time to head home. Christmas beetles can take a hint.
Be a Backyard Buddy
The appearance of Christmas beetles is a reminder that the end of the year festive season is coming; they’re also really beautiful and fascinating to watch.
Christmas beetles like:
- Moist, but not too wet, environments.
- Grassy woodlands.
- Mature eucalypt leaves.
But they don’t like:
- Being stepped on. Heavy spring rains and thunderstorms provide the perfect conditions for Christmas beetles to hatch out of the soil. Especially if it rains in the later afternoon, be sure to watch where you step on the lawn. You might walk right into the middle of a huge bunch of brand new Christmas beetles.
- Losing all of their food sources. Reduction of our native woodlands, especially near cities and towns, has meant that beetles don’t have as many places to feed.
- Long droughts and very dry conditions that make it harder for their babies to hatch.
Be a Buddy to Christmas beetles
Try to:
- Keep your garden in balance with native eucalypts. Too few trees in your area will mean that the Christmas beetles will all collect on the one tree. Your tree will most likely grow back, but the hungry beetles will certainly strip a lot of the trees leaves while they feast.
- Keep your lawn healthy and use native grasses. Christmas beetle larvae will eat the roots of your grass, but keeping it well nourished and watered will help the grass stay healthy and feed the baby beetles too.
- Helping to protect local woodlands so that Christmas beetles will have a variety of food sources and places to lay their eggs, not just in your garden.
Avoid:
- Spraying pesticides on the beetles. It won’t solve the problem because more beetles will keep on coming. Pesticides will also hurt a lot of the other important native insects and animals that help to keep a balance in your garden.
- Worrying too much about your trees. Big groups of Christmas beetles can eat quite a lot of leaves from one tree if there is no other food source. Their feasting frenzy might look like it is doing a lot of damage, but Christmas feasts are always short and they prefer the mature leaves to the fresh new shoots. If you are worried about having too many beetles, encouraging magpies, currawongs and possums into your garden will help to keep your numbers of beetle guests down.
- Giving your garden too much water over winter. Christmas beetle larvae like to hatch after heavy rains in spring, but soil that is waterlogged for a long time isn’t good for the larvae as they grow.
Don’t be surprised if Christmas beetles:
- Suddenly disappear after a few weeks. There are two things on the mind of a Christmas beetle once they hatch: eating and mating. Once that’s done, it’s mission accomplished.
A few more Christmas beetle facts
- A Christmas beetle’s colouring comes from special layers of reflectors built into their hard shells.
- The Christmas beetle is a type of scarab beetle and is related to the Rhinoceros Beetle and Dung Beetle.
- If you would like to know more about Christmas Beetles download the Australian Museum Christmas Beetle App.
