Scarab beetles

Automolius species

• Reddish brown to dark brown
• 4–5mm long
• Elytra (wing covers) covering most of the abdomen
• Short body hairs
• Active during daylight

Liparetrus species

• Light brown to brown
• 5–7mm long
• Elytra (wing covers) covering around two-thirds of the abdomen and often lighter in colour than the rest of the body
• Long body hairs on the end of the abdomen
• Mostly active at night, but some active during the day

Epholcis bilobiceps

• Reddish brown
• 5–7mm long
• Stiff hairs on the elytra (wing covers) and margins of the prothorax (body section bearing the first pair of legs)
• Characteristic head shape, with 2 strongly projecting lobes at the front
• Swarms of adults on trees at night, resting on trees or undergrowth during the day
• Swarms sometimes very large, covering the tree stem

See additional images of scarab beetles.

• Widespread throughout Queensland
• Epholcis bilobiceps limited to North Queensland's coastal areas from Iron Range to Townsville

• Spotted gum (Corymbia citriodora subspecies. variegata)
• Cadaghi (C. torelliana)
• Rose gum and hybrids (Eucalyptus grandis)
• Dunn's white gum (E. dunnii)
• Western white gum (E. argophloia)
• Gympie messmate (E. cloeziana)

• Jagged leaf edges caused by adult beetles feeding on young eucalypt foliage, growing tips and coppice shoots
• Dieback and defoliation caused by swarms of feeding beetles
• Reduced early season growth and delayed forming of dominant central stem
• Feeding of larvae on roots of improved pasture grasses, turf and decaying organic matter – plantations surrounded by pasture particularly vulnerable
• Tree mortality in young or recently coppiced plantations that have repeated infestations

• Eggs are laid in the soil
• White larvae feed on fine grass roots and organic matter before pupating in the soil
• Adults appear en masse in spring or early summer, often after rain

• Carnegie, A, Lawson, SA, Smith, T, Pegg, GS, Stone, C, and McDonald, J 2008, Healthy hardwoods: a field guide to pests, diseases and nutritional disorders in subtropical hardwoods, Forest and Wood Products Australia, Victoria
• Jones, DL, Elliot, WR, Jones, SR, 2015, Pests, diseases, ailments and alies of Australian Plants, Reed New Holland Publishers Pty Ltd, Chatswood, NSW