Where have all the Christmas beetles gone?
We spoke to Associate Professor Tanya Latty from the University of Sydney about her researcher. Find out more here.
Video transcript
- Where did all the Christmas beetles go?
- That's the question many Aussies are asking this year, you only have to think back a decade and the skies used to be swarming with them over summer.
TANYA LATTY: People seem to have these really strong memories of there being lots and lots of Christmas beetles when they were children and this was something that really heralded the arrival of Christmas in Australia.
- But like the Bogong moth, which used to migrate across the country in their billions in October, they've all but disappeared.
- I think it's because of climate change.
- Maybe it's that forests are being bulldozed by developers.
- Associate professor Tanya Latty from the University of Sydney is searching for the answer.
TANYA LATTY: Fortunately, we've started to notice now insect declines in quite a lot of different species around the world. I mean, I think it's partly a case of you don't really know just how important something is until it's gone and then it's noticeable. And unfortunately, it seems to take these really big declines for us to notice that something is going on.
- If you want to help, then download the iNaturalist mobile app. Then, we'll be able to find out.
