Anoplognathus viridiaeneus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Anoplognathus viridiaeneus, commonly known as the king Christmas beetle, is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae native to eastern Australia. The largest Christmas beetle, it can be over 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long. Edward Donovan described the King Christmas beetle in 1805 as Melolontha viridi-ænea, writing, "Nature seems to have devoted abundant attention to the embellishment of this common insect: its glow of colouring is peculiar and inimitable. The prevailing hues do not strictly please us by their harmony as their contrast, which is indeed striking, or rather glaring, but upon the whole produce a rich effect", describing it as "testaceous" (red-brown) overlain with translucent green and a brassy-gold sheen in light. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin words viridis "green" and aeneus "copper/bronze".
The King Christmas beetle was described in 1817 as Rutela caesarea by Gustaf Johan Billberg and R. latreillei by Leonard Gyllenhaal. When Leach erected the genus Anoplognathus in 1815, he did not assign a type species. Phil Carne designated A. viridiaeneus as the type in 1957.
The largest Christmas beetle, the adult male is 30–32 mm long... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a King Christmas Beetle sighting in Royal National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 100th most-seen of the 175 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a King Christmas Beetle in Royal National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most King Christmas Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate King Christmas Beetle sightings, Royal National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Blue Mountains National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same genus: Anoplognathus
The closest relatives of the King Christmas Beetle that you can see in Royal National Park (genus Anoplognathus, Christmas Beetles) are Anoplognathus olivieri (about 30%), Washerwoman (about 20%) and Anoplognathus viriditarsis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the King Christmas Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Royal National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
