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- ›Anoplognathini
- ›Anoplognathina
Christmas Beetles
Anoplognathus
Christmas beetle is a name commonly applied to the Australian beetle genus Anoplognathus, which belongs to the subfamily Rutelinae. They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in both urban and rural areas close to Christmas. Christmas beetles are large (20–30 mm long) members of the scarab family that are noisy and clumsy fliers, similar to the cockchafers of Europe. They typically have elytra that are dark or light brown, or green, while some species have a green-yellow iridescence.
The genus includes 35 species, several of which have been implicated in dieback of eucalypts. Anoplognathus pallidicollis is the species most commonly observed and associated with the name of Christmas beetle. However, there is a tendency for the name Christmas beetle to be used more ambiguously to refer to other metallic beetles not in this family, such as the stag beetle genus Lamprima. The smaller Argentine lawn beetle, Cyclocephala signaticollis, is prevalent in December and may also be referred to as a "Christmas beetle", labelled by the Australian Museum as an "impostor".
35 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Washerwoman
speciesAnoplognathus porosus
Anoplognathus olivieri
speciesAnoplognathus olivieri
Duck Billed Beetle
speciesAnoplognathus montanus
Emerald Tip Beetle
speciesAnoplognathus brunnipennis
Anoplognathus boisduvalii
speciesAnoplognathus boisduvalii
Anoplognathus viriditarsis
speciesAnoplognathus viriditarsis
Cashew beetle
speciesAnoplognathus pallidicollis
Campfire Beetle
speciesAnoplognathus concolor
Hairy Spotted Beetle
speciesAnoplognathus velutinus
King Christmas Beetle
speciesAnoplognathus viridiaeneus
Brown-winged Christmas Beetle
speciesAnoplognathus flavipennis
Anoplognathus punctulatus
speciesAnoplognathus punctulatus
Anoplognathus suturalis
speciesAnoplognathus suturalis
Anoplognathus abnormis
speciesAnoplognathus abnormis
Granny Smith Beetle
speciesAnoplognathus prasinus
Anoplognathus explanatus
speciesAnoplognathus explanatus
Anoplognathus smaragdinus
speciesAnoplognathus smaragdinus
Anoplognathus parvulus
speciesAnoplognathus parvulus
Anoplognathus daemeli
speciesAnoplognathus daemeli
Anoplognathus macleayi
speciesAnoplognathus macleayi
Anoplognathus aeneus
speciesAnoplognathus aeneus
Anoplognathus nebulosus
speciesAnoplognathus nebulosus
Anoplognathus rhinastus
speciesAnoplognathus rhinastus
Anoplognathus aurora
speciesAnoplognathus aurora
Anoplognathus rothschildti
speciesAnoplognathus rothschildti
Anoplognathus aureus
speciesAnoplognathus aureus
Anoplognathus rugosus
speciesAnoplognathus rugosus
Anoplognathus vietor
speciesAnoplognathus vietor
Anoplognathus multiseriatus
speciesAnoplognathus multiseriatus
Anoplognathus pindarus
speciesAnoplognathus pindarus
Anoplognathus brevicollis
speciesAnoplognathus brevicollis
Anoplognathus flindersensis
speciesAnoplognathus flindersensis
Anoplognathus debaari
speciesAnoplognathus debaari
Anoplognathus storeyi
speciesAnoplognathus storeyi
Anoplognathus blackdownensis
speciesAnoplognathus blackdownensis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
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Every page naming Anoplognathus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 201869.