Christmas Beetle

Firstly let me thank all of you for your generous comments, stars and favourites for my 500th blip yesterday. Thanks to your support, my Spotted Dove has been in the Spotlight all day.

Around midnight last night I went out on the deck to ensure that everything was secure before going to bed. To my surprise, I found a large Christmas beetle doing circles on his back. Ran back inside to grab the camera with a flash and took a few shots while I had the chance.

Christmas Beetles are scarab beetles native to Australia and are most active in the warmer summer months. They are large shiny beetles that are often seen around the house at night crawling on the ground or flying around (and into) the house. It is a pale brown beetle with irregular rows of small brown spots along the wing cases. They are attracted by light.

More interesting.

This one was about 20mm in length and had short hairy legs. They feed on eucalypt leaves and can cause severe damage when their numbers are high.

Christmas Beetles lay their eggs in the soil. The larvae develop in the ground for about a year feeding on organic matter and plant roots of grass and other vegetation. In gardens they may feed on the roots of lawn turf causing yellow patches in the grass. The larvae pupate in late winter emerging as adults in time for Christmas.