Have you noticed a disappearance of Christmas Beetles over the years? These beautifully coloured beetles used to be all over our verandah lights…  harkening the start of summer.

4ZZZ's Eliot Rifkin spoke with Tanya Latty from Invertebrates Australia to chat about their christmas beetle citizen science project and how you can get involved.

For a deep dive...

Here's a link to the Christmas Beetle Count project where you can learn more about the project or help by being a citizen scientist yourself and report Christmas Beetles in your neighbourhood.  Download the iNaturalist phone app at either the Google or Apple stores or the Australia Museum's Christmas Beetle ID guide and phone app.

Or to aid you in identification... here's a Lucid Key to use just like an entomologist to identify between the various NSW Christmas Beetle species as well as between the adult male and females.

To learn more about Christmas Beetles visit the Invertebrates Australia and the Australian Museum websites to see the various species and habits