Christmas Beetles (Anoplognathus)

Christmas Beetles are a type of scarab (a group that includes dung beetles and chafers). Compared to other scarabs, Christmas Beetles (genus Anoplognathus) are large and chunky, somewhat flattened in shape and with metallic brown, yellow or pink colours.

Source: Australian Museum¹

The “Christmas Beetle” is a term to describe a group of medium to large beetles (20–30 mm long) that are in the genus Anoplognathus, members of the scarab family. Sometimes Christmas beetle is applied to beetles in other genera. At the time of writing, there are 36 species of Christmas beetles in the genus Anoplognathus, subfamily Rutelinae, most of which are found only in Australia.

Christmas beetles are noisy and often appear clumsy in flight. The Christmas beetles typically have elytra that are dark to light brown, or green, with some species having a green-yellow iridescence — the elytra is the hardened forewings of beetles that protect the delicate hind wings. The word elytra comes from the Greek word elytron, which means “cover” or “sheath”.

Christmas beetles are an iconic member of Australia’s wildlife and a unique part of Australia’s natural heritage, that include koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and platypuses.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Informal: Pterygotes
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Superfamily: Scarabaeoidea
Family: Scarabaeidae
Subfamily: Rutelinae
Tribe: Anoplognathini
Genus: Anoplognathus
Species:
- Anoplognathus abnormis
- Anoplognathus aeneus
- Anoplognathus aureus
- Anoplognathus blackdownensis
- Anoplognathus boisduvalii
- Anoplognathus brevicollis
- Anoplognathus brunnipennis
- Anoplognathus chloropyrus
- Anoplognathus concolor
- Anoplognathus daemeli
- Anoplognathus flavipennis
- Anoplognathus flindersensis
- Anoplognathus hirsutus
- Anoplognathus macalpinei
- Anoplognathus macleayi
- Anoplognathus montanus
- Anoplognathus multiseriatus
- Anoplognathus narmarus
- Anoplognathus nebulosus
- Anoplognathus olivieri
- Anoplognathus pallidicollis
- Anoplognathus parvulus
- Anoplognathus pindarus
- Anoplognathus porosus
- Anoplognathus prasinus
- Anoplognathus punctulatus
- Anoplognathus rhinastus
- Anoplognathus rothschildti
- Anoplognathus rubiginosus
- Anoplognathus rugosus
- Anoplognathus smaragdinus
- Anoplognathus suturalis
- Anoplognathus velutinus
- Anoplognathus viridiaeneus
- Anoplognathus viriditarsis

Footnote & References

Christmas Beetles, Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/collections/natural-science/entomology/christmas-beetles/
Christmas Beetle, Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/christmas-beetle/
Anoplognathus Leach, 1815, Christmas Beetle, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Anoplognathus
Christmas Beetle Count, Invertebrates Australia, iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/christmas-beetle-count
People worry Christmas beetles are disappearing. We’re gathering citizen data to see the full picture, CSIRO, https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2023/december/christmas-beetles

ColeopteraColeoptera Index Amarygmus sp Anoplognathus sp Aphanestes gymnopleura Blackburnium cavicolle Buprestidae Carphurus Cerambycidae Chalcopteroides (Chalcopterus Beetle) Christmas Beetles Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles) Coleoptera (Beetles) Curculionidae Dung Beetle Eretes australis Helea scaphiformis Hydrophilus Ladybirds (Beetles) Lepidiota Lucanidae Lycidae Mordellidae (Pintail Beetles) Neospades sp Omorgus Paropsine Beetle Paropsisterna sp Phorticosomus sp Protaetia fusca Pterohelaeus sp Rhinotia haemoptera Rhipiceridae Scarabaeidae Tenebrionidae Xylophilostenus octophyllus

InsectsBees Beetles Blattodea Butterflies Coleoptera Cicada Crabronidae Diptera Dragonflies & Damselflies Formicidae Hemiptera Heteroptera Moths Orthoptera Orthopteroid Processionary Caterpillar Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs and Allies Wasps Water Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis) Witchetty Grub