Subject: I believe this may be a Giant Christmas Beetle?
Location: Cheltenham, Melbourne, Australia.
February 2, 2017 5:55 pm
G’day BUGMAN!!
Here is my photo of what I now believe is a Giant Christmas Beetle, as per our previous discussion & my wrongly identifying him as a Goldsmith Beetle.
For anyone else who maybe reading, this little guy (although quite big really) was buzzing around the car wash while I was washing my car on Nov 28 2016. He landed in a huge pile of suds in the corner of my wash bay. As I was rinsing my car at the time, I thought it might be a good idea to put the nozzle on as gentle as possible & wash some suds away & rinse him off. He wasn’t looking too good after his Sud pile dive, so I gently picked him up & moved him to a safe place & dry land 🙂 I would’ve taken him home to keep an eye on him, but I thought he’d been through enough stress for one night & freedom was probably more comforting than being carried around & stuck in a box. Plus I wasn’t sure what they eat.
Thank you for the link of where to post him for you Bugman & thank you for being BUGMAN!!
Have a fabulous day!
Signature: Kindest regards, manda.
Dear Manda,
Thanks so much for sending in your image of a Christmas Beetle in the genus Anoplognathus. According to the Australian Museum: “There are 36 species in the genus with all but one unique (endemic) to Australia and 21 species found in New South Wales. At least 10 species occur in the Sydney region – more if the Blue Mountains are included. Because they are such a feature of the eastern Australian experience some common species have been given English names, such as the Washerwoman, Anoplognathus porosus, and (rarer) King Beetle, Anoplognathus viridiaeneus (see photos, right). Distinguishing some species can be tricky, but it helps to examine the hairs on their ‘bums’ (posterior). (This is something of an in-joke among entomologists but it actually works for this group!)” Based on the images included on the Australian Museum Christmas Beetle Project page, the markings on the elytra of your individual look most like theWasherwoman.