Christmas Beetle (Anoplognathus) Christmas Beetles are made up of a group of around 30 different species of Beetle belonging to the Genus Anoplognathus. It wouldn't be a Christmas in Sydney without these little fellows hurling themselves into your flyscreen door. They come in a vast array of beautiful colours and patterns, adults emerge from the ground in Summer.
What do they look like? The larval form of the Christmas beetles are often incorrectly called Witchetty Grubs, they are in fact significantly smaller, and from what I've been told significantly less tasty. Gardeners often dig up the small grub while working in the soil. Adults are usually Golden, Brown, Green or Black in colour and can range in size from 15-40mm long.
What do they do? The larvae feed on the roots of various shrubs and grasses while adults prefer to feed on the foliage of plants, including Eucalypts. A large swarm of Adult Christmas Beetles are able to defoliate a large tree quite quickly
Can we live with them? Yes! In fact we should be encouraging them. Loss of habitat in Sydney's west has seen a decline in the number of Christmas Beetles. Although the larvae feed on roots, they cause very little damage to our gardens, unless in plague proportions. It would be a shame to lose one of our iconic Australian insects which have been a part of the Australian Christmas for generation after generation.
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