Can anyone identify this beetle
 

This beetle landed on our drive in SE Melbourne today - I have never seen one of these before so I took a couple of pictures of it.

The photo with the phone is for scale.

Does anyone know what it is?

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...denbeetle1.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ldenbeetle.jpg

Thanks

BB

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

It's December...so it must be a Xmas beetle!

I think that's what they used to call em up in Qld anyway.

http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisb...tmasBeetle.htm

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

I saw those recently in the Australian museum. I think it's a type of scarab... A 'Royal Scarab'?

Something like that anyway.

http://esperancewildlife.blogspot.co...ephala-sp.html

I think Xmas beetles are scarabs too.

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

They're great big ungainly things that fly around making a noise a bit like a Lancaster bomber...limited navigation skills, often seen and heard banging into solid objects like walls!

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

PS -that phone is MASSIVE.

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

Ringo



Nah, it does look like an Xmas Beetle, but I've never seen one that colour. The ones I see are generally the same sort of colour as a cockroach

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

They are seriously stupid and pointless. Do nothing but thump into things and drop down dead. Stress the cat out as well when she's sitting gazing out of the window and they hit the glass and fall. :lol:

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

The kids at school had some today and were so excited because they are christmas beetles :thumbsup:

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

I was reading about Christmas beetles the other day :o there are 35 different types; the ones we have our brown but the one you have is one as well. They bombarded the house last year and are doing the same this year, just sweep them all up in the morning from the paths/patios they just all end up on there backs with feet flailing in the air, if you turn them the right way they just do it again :(

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

We see the occasional one here, usually just sitting on the lawn. They are often a shiny green colour, sometimes they can be quite spectacular a bit like a hologram.

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

That's exactly what they are. I'd forgotten about them now we're in an apartment but they're pretty and seem, as MP suggests, completely dumb :)

Used to scare the bejaysus out of me at the cottage, when they first started up.

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

I'm informed by our resident entomologist (aged 9) that it's a golden scarab beetle:rofl:.

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

Looks like a xmas beetle to me too. Used to have hundreds of them appear at xmas time when I was a kid and we'd have great fun picking them off the fly screens and chasing each other. Used to love it when they arrived because it meant xmas and holidays were around the corner...don't see that many any more but one landed on my deck the other day and made me feel nostalgic. :thumbsup:

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

And she is 100% correct. :thumbsup:

The aptly-named golden scarab, found in the Wet Tropics is a Christmas beetle. (Source: Environmental Protection Agency.)

Re: Can anyone identify this beetle
 

He will be delighted to have that confirmed by the BE information guru:p.