The African black beetle, or the black lawn beetle, is a member of the rhinoceros beetles family. Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius was the one who named it in 1775. Its scientific name Heteronychus arator is a combination of Heteronychus meaning “variable claw” and arator meaning “ploughman”.
Size: 12-15 mm (0.47-0.6 in)
Color: It has a shiny black appearance on the upper col3 and reddish-brown on the undercol3s.
Other Characteristic Features: These slow-moving nocturnal beetles are oval and cylindrical in shape. The females appear larger than the males.
They are white and have a yellow-brown head with black jaws. The bodies of these grubs are soft and “C” shaped, with six legs and a swollen, dark abdomen. When newly hatched, they are 5mm long, eventually growing to 25-30 mm.
The pupae start as pale yellow and turn reddish-brown as they are about to mature into adults. It is 1.5 cm long and 8mm wide. In Australia, the larva begins to pupate in March when autumn starts. Pupation takes place for around one month.
The eggs are creamy-white, 1.8mm long, and oval. A female can lay 30 eggs in her lifetime.
| Other names | Black lawn beetle |
| Adult lifespan | 10 months |
| Distribution | Native: Africa, Introduced: Australia (except Tasmania) and North Island in New Zealand |
| Habitat | Lawns, farms, gardens |
| Seasons active | March to December |
| Host plants | Grass, turf, horticulture crops, and cereals like wheat, barley, and triticale. |
| Diet of adults | Plant stems |
Adults often feed on growing points of young plants, causing the plant to die before reaching maturity. The damage is recognizable from bite marks on stems. Larvae target the roots of pastures, which eventually become patchy, and can be lifted easily from the from the soil’s surface, rolled back just like a carpet.
Image Source: barmac.com.au, pbs.twimg.com, agric.wa.gov.au, abc.net.au, agric.wa.gov.au
The African black beetle, or the black lawn beetle, is a member of the rhinoceros beetles family. Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius was the one who named it in 1775. Its scientific name Heteronychus arator is a combination of Heteronychus meaning “variable claw” and arator meaning “ploughman”.
Size: 12-15 mm (0.47-0.6 in)
Color: It has a shiny black appearance on the upper col3 and reddish-brown on the undercol3s.
Other Characteristic Features: These slow-moving nocturnal beetles are oval and cylindrical in shape. The females appear larger than the males.
They are white and have a yellow-brown head with black jaws. The bodies of these grubs are soft and “C” shaped, with six legs and a swollen, dark abdomen. When newly hatched, they are 5mm long, eventually growing to 25-30 mm.
The pupae start as pale yellow and turn reddish-brown as they are about to mature into adults. It is 1.5 cm long and 8mm wide. In Australia, the larva begins to pupate in March when autumn starts. Pupation takes place for around one month.
The eggs are creamy-white, 1.8mm long, and oval. A female can lay 30 eggs in her lifetime.
| Other names | Black lawn beetle |
| Adult lifespan | 10 months |
| Distribution | Native: Africa, Introduced: Australia (except Tasmania) and North Island in New Zealand |
| Habitat | Lawns, farms, gardens |
| Seasons active | March to December |
| Host plants | Grass, turf, horticulture crops, and cereals like wheat, barley, and triticale. |
| Diet of adults | Plant stems |
Adults often feed on growing points of young plants, causing the plant to die before reaching maturity. The damage is recognizable from bite marks on stems. Larvae target the roots of pastures, which eventually become patchy, and can be lifted easily from the from the soil’s surface, rolled back just like a carpet.
Image Source: barmac.com.au, pbs.twimg.com, agric.wa.gov.au, abc.net.au, agric.wa.gov.au
