Cashew beetle
The cashew beetle is a chunky Australian beetle with glossy brown wing covers. It comes out at night and flies towards lights. Its legs have little claws and barbs that help it hold on to thin gum leaves.
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Fun facts
It lives for about two years.
It used to be very common around Christmas, which is why people call it a Christmas beetle.
Its front legs are not the same length, maybe to help it grip thin eucalyptus leaves.
The young beetles wait underground for rain to soften the soil before they dig their way out.
Its larvae eating grass roots can cause yellow, dead patches in lawns.
Most asked questions about Cashew beetle
?Why is it called a Christmas beetle?
Because the grown-ups used to be very common in the Australian summer, around Christmas.
?What does the cashew beetle eat?
Grown-ups eat eucalyptus leaves, and the larvae eat roots underground.
?When is it most active?
Around sunset and the hours just after.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Anoplognathus pallidicollis
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Scarabaeidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Scarabaeidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Christmas beetle
Where the facts come from
- Anoplognathus pallidicollis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Cyron Ray Macey from Brisbane (-27.470963,153.026505), Australia. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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