Subfamily Melolonthinae - Chafer Beetles

Family Scarabaeidae

Beetles in this subfamily usually brown in colour, but may be black, metallic or bicoloured. They are commonly known as Chafers or Cockchafers. Male and female look no different.

Their life cycle is usually more than one year. Larvae are long life, in C-shaped and soil-dwelling, feed on roots and other organic matter. They pupate in cell deep in soil. When become adults, they stay remains in the cell, wait until rain softens the soil and come out. This makes the adults come out from soil in the same time, synchronizes as the mating flight. Most of them active at night but some feed during the day. Adults live only a few days or weeks.

Green Scarab Beetles, Green Spring Beetles, Green Chafers

Diphucephala sp., body length 8mm
Green Scarab Beetles are common in Brisbane in early summer. Whole body is metallic green in colour. In early summer, we usually find half the leaves of a tree was completely eaten by those small green beetles. More information please click here.

Brown Cockchafer, Rhopaea Cane Grub

Rhopaea magnicornis, Melolonthini, body length 22mm
This beetle is brown in colour and with a hairy body. Notice its antennae is short and fan-like. We found this beetle in summer night flying towards our windows. More information on this page.


Yellow Cockchafer

? Lepidiota or Rhopaea sp. body length 25mm
The beetle was found on the forest floor in Karawatha Forest on early summer Nov 2007. It ran and disappeared among ground covers after we took a few photos.

Nectar Scarab Beetle

Phyllotocus sp., body length 10mm
This Flower Dung Beetle have the typical brick-red colour we believed is mimicking the Lycid Beetle. We have more information in this page.

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 630.
2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p229.
3. Beetles of Australia - Trevor J Hawkeswood, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1987, p31.
4. Melolonthinae - Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2008.