Common Christmas Beetle vs Ant Cricket
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Common Christmas Beetle | Ant Cricket |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Anoplognathus pallidicollis | Myrmecophilus acervorum |
| Order | Coleoptera | Orthoptera |
| Family | Scarabaeidae | Gryllidae |
| Size | 20-30 mm | 2-3 mm |
| Habitat | Woodlands | Woodlands |
| Diet | Root Feeders | Parasites |
| Regions | Australia | Europe, Western Asia |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Common Christmas Beetle
A glossy golden-brown scarab beetle that swarms around lights during the Australian summer. It is the most commonly encountered Christmas beetle species.
Did You Know?
Their emergence in December each year gave them the common name Christmas beetle.
Ant Cricket
A minute, wingless cricket that lives inside ant nests as a social parasite. It is oval-shaped and moves quickly among its host ants.
Did You Know?
It acquires its host ants' cuticular hydrocarbons to smell like them, allowing it to live undetected inside their colony.