Just a reminder, in case anyone didn’t know, that this is a particular time of year. Yes, it’s Christmas Beetle season, and there’s a Christmas Beetle survey on, so get out there and record…
The photo below shows such a beast. It’s a terrible photo (by me) and the animal is crushed (found on the steps to Helensburgh Railway Station), but the photo shows enough to identify this species. The plain brown colour and uniform scattering of flat white hairs are diagnostic. If you want to identify it for yourself check the ‘Christmas Beetle ID’ apps on Apple and Android.
It’s Anoplognathus velutinus, named the ‘hairy spotted beetle’ by Natalie Wright in our Christmas Beetle naming competition six years ago. Among other names offered was ‘The Lamington’ which is a great fit too and my personal favourite, though I’m not a great fan of the cake.
In fact, this is probably the easiest species to identify, but also one of the scarcer ones around Sydney, and one that is a spring species, rarely seen in December. I photographed it in October. There’s more information about Anoplognathus velutinus on the Australian Museum website. The Christmas Beetle recording site is at Invertebrates Australia's website.
We are using Christmas Beetles as a potential model group for monitoring the effects of climate change (yes, it’s happening).
Please have a look at the website and have a look for the beetles… The best way to look for them is to visit strong lights at night, at the edge of forest.
So far this spring/summer I have seen just two individuals at the Helensburgh Railway Station – the one photographed and Anoplognathus concolor, which is one of our smallest and also commonest species. I’ve seen ‘concolor’ (aka the Campfire Beetle) every year since I started looking under the lights.
It’s possibly early days, perhaps a delayed season, but I suspect this is just a bad year. Last week I was up in the north-west Blue Mountains (around Rylstone) and failed to see any Christmas Beetles, but the area was incredibly dry for this time of year. There wasn’t much of anything.
However, a colleague has shown me photos of four species attracted to a light sheet on the Putty Road, Lower Blue Mountains, last week.
So perhaps you’ll have some luck too. All records are useful, from anywhere in Australia.
Happy hunting and happy Christmas Beetle season.