What bug is this?

[Monomer]

I found this dead bug in the garden the other day. I've never seen anything like it before and thought it looked great, so I took a bunch of photos. Does anyone know what it is? It's about 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Monomer

I found this dead bug in the garden the other day. I've never seen anything like it before and thought it looked great, so I took a bunch of photos. Does anyone know what it is? It's about 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.

Attachment 1919
Attachment 1920

Just a guess, I am no expert.

"The Christmas beetle, is a name commonly applied to the Australian beetle genus Anoplognathus. They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in urban areas close to Christmas."

Christmas beetle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Possibly this specific one:

2. Anoplognathus viridiaeneus (Donovan)

[Monomer]

From the photos in your links it looks like you're right - it's a Christmas beetle.

Thanks Cedars!

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Cedars

Just a guess, I am no expert.

Stop being coy Cedars.
AFAICT, you are the resident Insecta expert here at Hypo!

I for one appreciate your insect contributions. I've learned quite a bit about butterflies and other insects from your posts. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to go about identifying the hummingbird moth you ID'd a few months back from my blurry photos.
Please keep up the good, and informative, work!

[Ganoderma]

these pop to mind when i see those:
Anomala
Trigonophorus (probably not, but resembles some females of some species)

even some Protaetia look similar, but i have NO idea about Australian species, but here in taiwan we have all of the above....so there is a good chance OZ has em too. just a guess though, i find beetles to eb hard most of the time getting down to specie.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

these pop to mind when i see those:
Anomala
Trigonophorus (probably not, but resembles some females of some species)

even some Protaetia look similar, but i have NO idea about Australian species, but here in taiwan we have all of the above....so there is a good chance OZ has em too. just a guess though, i find beetles to eb hard most of the time getting down to specie.

Is this the trigonophorus you are talking about?

Cetonidae - the online insect museum

The above page doesnt show the female of the species, but it is similar looking.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Stop being coy Cedars.
AFAICT, you are the resident Insecta expert here at Hypo!

I for one appreciate your insect contributions. I've learned quite a bit about butterflies and other insects from your posts. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to go about identifying the hummingbird moth you ID'd a few months back from my blurry photos.
Please keep up the good, and informative, work!

I got lucky. One of the first few pages I clicked (google "australian beetles") was a bug collector/online sales link and on his very top page he had a pic of a very similar bug. Helped me narrow it down fast. It is just a guess and beetles can be tough. I could be wrong on this one.

But thanks for the vote of confidence!

[LaurieAG]

Originally Posted by Cedars

"The Christmas beetle, is a name commonly applied to the Australian beetle genus Anoplognathus. They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in urban areas close to Christmas."

Hi Cedars,

The Christmas beetle can also be coloured brown instead of the irridescent gold color. I think its something to do with the amount of moisture in the ground when the grub develops into the beetle.

There are also other beetles on this site Beautiful Beetles - December - Scribbly Gum - ABC Science Online

The Rhinoceros beetle is also coming out at the moment, I saw my first one today.

[Ganoderma]

ya that was one of my guesses, but i am not so sure as to specie. some better shots of the head and underside (with legs) would be nice we have that specie, here, but i am not so sure about australia...i know very little about that countries insect life

that site is pretty vague on locations. i see a number of species we have here in taiwan but they only list japan or china for example. and vise versa. so i would not take those locations as definitive.

Originally Posted by Cedars

Is this the trigonophorus you are talking about?

Cetonidae - the online insect museum

The above page doesnt show the female of the species, but it is similar looking.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by LaurieAG

Hi Cedars,

The Christmas beetle can also be coloured brown instead of the irridescent gold color. I think its something to do with the amount of moisture in the ground when the grub develops into the beetle.

There are also other beetles on this site Beautiful Beetles - December - Scribbly Gum - ABC Science Online

The Rhinoceros beetle is also coming out at the moment, I saw my first one today.

I dont know if we have the Rhino beetle around here. We have the Stag beetle which is one of the bigger beetles, that and the Giant Water bug. I did find a Goldsmith Beetle on Crex this summer that had been killed on the road.

Species Cotalpa lanigera - Goldsmith Beetle - BugGuide.Net

I should have posted it on BugGuide. They dont have a wisconsin image/verification, but I ID'd it via the Crex Visitor Center info.