Scarabaeidae (family)

Scarab beetle, curl grub at Kameruka, NSW

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Identification history

SCARABAEIDAE	26 Sep 2020	KimPullen
SCARABAEIDAE	26 Sep 2020	KimPullen
Unidentified	26 Sep 2020	LisaWhite

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User's notes

Found burrowed in a cow pat & surrounding soil. Approx 10mm long. Hoping they’re a friend as we have some land under a conservation agreement.

5 comments

JackieMiles wrote:

26 Sep 2020

Hi Lisa, I'd guess they are some sort of scarab beetle larvae, and most likely native, but I'll leave it to an insect person to verify that. Jackie

LisaWhite wrote:

26 Sep 2020

Iv’e left them where I found them, but I just can’t help trying to find out what they are!

KimPullen wrote:

26 Sep 2020

This may be the 'Blackheaded pasture cockchafer', Acrossidius tasmaniae, which is a native pasture pest. Confirmation would require close examination of specimens.

LisaWhite wrote:

27 Sep 2020

Thanks, very much, Kim. Now that it’s been confirmed, do you have any advice re leaving them or giving the chooks a feed? Are they a fried or a foe to a conservation area?

KimPullen wrote:

17 Oct 2020

Lisa, they are not a serious foe, so I would leave them. If they are indeed a native species, then they are part of the landscape and environment. Any damage they cause will be minor.

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