Christmas Beetle: watercolour painting by Marion Shepherd, 2000 [4 of 14]

CHRISTMAS BEETLES
Anoplognathus sp.
What we call a Christmas beetle refers to a member of the Scarabaeidae family which have shiny or metallic bodies and which are found around summer time here in southern Australia. They may look beautiful but many species are serious pests and can defoliate and badly damage the eucalyptus trees upon which they feed. I believe that 30% of all animal species in the world are beetles, there are over 300,000 species of Coleoptera. A famous biologist once remarked that God must have had a "special preference for beetles".

© Marion Shepherd 2000, 2006