Christmas beetle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Christmas beetle |
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| A Christmas beetle (Anoplognathus pallidicollis) | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Genus: | Anoplognathus Leach, 1819 |
| Species | |
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See text |
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Christmas beetles are a type of beetle found mostly in Australia and South Africa. They get their name because you often see lots of them around the Christmas holidays! These beetles are quite big, usually about 2 to 3 centimeters long. They belong to the scarab family, which includes many different kinds of beetles. Christmas beetles are known for being a bit clumsy when they fly and can be quite noisy, similar to the cockchafers found in Europe.
What Do Christmas Beetles Look Like?
Christmas beetles often have shiny bodies. Their hard wing covers, called elytra, can be dark brown, light brown, or green. Some species even have a cool green-yellow shimmer, like a rainbow effect, which is called iridescence. These wing covers protect their delicate flying wings underneath.
Where Do They Live and What Do They Do?
There are about 35 different kinds of Christmas beetles in the Anoplognathus group. The most common one you might see is called Anoplognathus pallidicollis. You can find them in both cities and the countryside.
Sometimes, if there are too many Christmas beetles, they can cause damage to eucalyptus trees. They do this by eating the leaves, which can make parts of the trees die back. People sometimes use the name "Christmas beetle" for other shiny beetles too, even if they are not exactly the same kind, like the stag beetle genus Lamprima.
