''Anoplognathus viridiaeneus'', commonly known as the king Christmas beetle, is a

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

of the family

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change. Several groups formerly tre ...

native to eastern Australia. The largest

Christmas beetle Christmas beetle is a name commonly applied to the Australian beetle genus ''Anoplognathus'', which belongs to the subfamily Rutelinae. They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in both urban and rural areas close to Christmas ...

, it can be over long.

Taxonomy

Edward Donovan Edward Donovan (1768 – 1 February 1837) was an Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist. He did not travel, but collected, described and illustrated many species based on the collections of other naturalists. Hi ...

described the King Christmas beetle in 1805 as ''Melolontha viridi-ænea'', writing, "Nature seems to have devoted abundant attention to the embellishment of this common insect: its glow of colouring is peculiar and inimitable. The prevailing hues do not strictly please us by their harmony as their contrast, which is indeed striking, or rather glaring, but upon the whole produce a rich effect", describing it as "testaceous" (red-brown) overlain with translucent green and a brassy-gold sheen in light. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin words ''viridis'' "green" and ''aeneus'' "copper/bronze". The King Christmas beetle was described in 1817 as ''Rutela caesarea'' by

Gustaf Johan Billberg Gustaf Johan Billberg (14 June 1772, Karlskrona – 26 November 1844, Stockholm) was a Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and anatomist, although professionally and by training he was a lawyer and used science and biology as an avocation. The pl ...

and ''R. latreillei'' by

Leonard Gyllenhaal Leonard Gyllenhaal (3 December 1752 – 13 May 1840) was a Swedish nobleman, military officer and entomologist. Early life and ancestry Born on the Ribbingsberg manor in Västergötland in west Sweden, Leonard Gyllenhaal was son of Hans ...

. When Leach erected the genus ''Anoplognathus'' in 1815, he did not assign a type species. Phil Carne designated ''A. viridiaeneus'' as the type in 1957.

Description

The largest Christmas beetle, the adult male is 30–32 mm long and 16–19 mm wide at its broadest, while the female is 28–34 mm long and 16-19.5 mm wide. It is predominantly red-brown with gold-green overtone. The head has rose highlights, while the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

, scutellum and

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

have a gold sheen. The pygidium, coxae, and abdomen are a bright green, while the legs are red-brown, and tarsi are black. The female has flatter elytra than the male.

Distribution

This species is present in eastern Australia (New South Wales and Queensland). Once common around Sydney, it has all but vanished due to loss of habitat.

Ecology

The larvae feed on rotting wood, humus and grass roots. The King Christmas beetle has been recorded on the turpentine tree (''

Syncarpia glomulifera ''Syncarpia glomulifera'', commonly known as the turpentine tree, or yanderra, is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can reach in height. It generally grows on heavier soils. The cream fl ...

'') of the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

References

External links

* Andrew Smit
Checklist of the world Anoplognathini
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4770141 Scarabaeidae Beetles described in 1805 Beetles of Australia