Beautiful Bugs

Community News

Lined Circle

Who can remember the Summers of past, when the hot days were serenaded by the sounds of Cicadas echoing around your backyard and the balmy nights meant your sceen door was adorned with dozens of small brown ‘Christmas beetles?

If you were really lucky you might have had one or two colourful and shiny larger beetles making an appearance and hanging out with their drab cousins. Where have they all gone? According to the Australian Museum, numbers have indeed fallen over the past 30-40 years. This is mainly due to the decline in their habitat – namely the Cumberland Plain woodland, of which only around 10% remains.

The Christmas Beetle larvae eat native grass roots, and the adult beetles eat eucalypt leaves, so as the woodland makes way for more and more housing, the beetle population has declined. I was very excited to see this little beauty over the Christmas break. It brought back many happy childhood memories.

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