What bug is this?

[Monomer]

I found this dead bug in the garden the other day. I've never seen anything like it before and thought it looked great, so I took a bunch of photos. Does anyone know what it is? It's about 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.

 

 

 

[Cedars]

I found this dead bug in the garden the other day. I've never seen anything like it before and thought it looked great, so I took a bunch of photos. Does anyone know what it is? It's about 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.

 

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Just a guess, I am no expert.

 

"The Christmas beetle, is a name commonly applied to the Australian beetle genus Anoplognathus. They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in urban areas close to Christmas."

 

Christmas beetle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Possibly this specific one:

 

2. Anoplognathus viridiaeneus (Donovan)

[Monomer]

From the photos in your links it looks like you're right - it's a Christmas beetle.

 

Thanks Cedars!

[freeztar]

Just a guess, I am no expert.

 

Stop being coy Cedars.

AFAICT, you are the resident Insecta expert here at Hypo!

 

I for one appreciate your insect contributions. I've learned quite a bit about butterflies and other insects from your posts. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to go about identifying the hummingbird moth you ID'd a few months back from my blurry photos.

Please keep up the good, and informative, work! :rolleyes:

[Ganoderma]

these pop to mind when i see those:

Anomala

Trigonophorus (probably not, but resembles some females of some species)

 

even some Protaetia look similar, but i have NO idea about Australian species, but here in taiwan we have all of the above....so there is a good chance OZ has em too. just a guess though, i find beetles to eb hard most of the time getting down to specie.

[Cedars]

these pop to mind when i see those:

Anomala

Trigonophorus (probably not, but resembles some females of some species)

 

even some Protaetia look similar, but i have NO idea about Australian species, but here in taiwan we have all of the above....so there is a good chance OZ has em too. just a guess though, i find beetles to eb hard most of the time getting down to specie.

 

Is this the trigonophorus you are talking about?

 

Cetonidae - the online insect museum

 

The above page doesnt show the female of the species, but it is similar looking.

[Cedars]

Stop being coy Cedars.

AFAICT, you are the resident Insecta expert here at Hypo! :)

 

I for one appreciate your insect contributions. I've learned quite a bit about butterflies and other insects from your posts. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to go about identifying the hummingbird moth you ID'd a few months back from my blurry photos.

Please keep up the good, and informative, work! :)

 

I got lucky. One of the first few pages I clicked (google "australian beetles") was a bug collector/online sales link and on his very top page he had a pic of a very similar bug. Helped me narrow it down fast. It is just a guess and beetles can be tough. I could be wrong on this one.

 

But thanks for the vote of confidence!

[LaurieAG]

"The Christmas beetle, is a name commonly applied to the Australian beetle genus Anoplognathus. They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in urban areas close to Christmas."

 

Hi Cedars,

 

The Christmas beetle can also be coloured brown instead of the irridescent gold color. I think its something to do with the amount of moisture in the ground when the grub develops into the beetle.

 

There are also other beetles on this site Beautiful Beetles - December - Scribbly Gum - ABC Science Online

 

The Rhinoceros beetle is also coming out at the moment, I saw my first one today.

[Ganoderma]

ya that was one of my guesses, but i am not so sure as to specie. some better shots of the head and underside (with legs) would be nice :) we have that specie, here, but i am not so sure about australia...i know very little about that countries insect life :(

 

that site is pretty vague on locations. i see a number of species we have here in taiwan but they only list japan or china for example. and vise versa. so i would not take those locations as definitive.

 

Is this the trigonophorus you are talking about?

 

Cetonidae - the online insect museum

 

The above page doesnt show the female of the species, but it is similar looking.

[Cedars]

Hi Cedars,

 

The Christmas beetle can also be coloured brown instead of the irridescent gold color. I think its something to do with the amount of moisture in the ground when the grub develops into the beetle.

 

There are also other beetles on this site Beautiful Beetles - December - Scribbly Gum - ABC Science Online

 

The Rhinoceros beetle is also coming out at the moment, I saw my first one today.

 

I dont know if we have the Rhino beetle around here. We have the Stag beetle which is one of the bigger beetles, that and the Giant Water bug. I did find a Goldsmith Beetle on Crex this summer that had been killed on the road.

 

Species Cotalpa lanigera - Goldsmith Beetle - BugGuide.Net

 

I should have posted it on BugGuide. They dont have a wisconsin image/verification, but I ID'd it via the Crex Visitor Center info.

[Cedars]

ya that was one of my guesses, but i am not so sure as to specie. some better shots of the head and underside (with legs) would be nice we have that specie, here, but i am not so sure about australia...i know very little about that countries insect life :hyper:

 

that site is pretty vague on locations. i see a number of species we have here in taiwan but they only list japan or china for example. and vise versa. so i would not take those locations as definitive.

 

I think the link I posted was someones personal website guide.

 

We need more BugGuide or Butterflies and Moths type websites for different continents!

[Ganoderma]

that we most certainly do! i am working on one for out here in asia, but my beetle helpers are very busy, so its a very slow process. i am more of an arachnid person myself....and beetle taxonomy is rather messy. but i think the suggested genera here are fairly accurate for the pics eh? i think these groups are fairly well represented.