Red-Headed Cockchafer

Constraint – Redheaded pasture cockchafer

Appearance

• Larvae grow to 30 mm long, and are "C" shaped white curl grubs with a red-brown head capsule

• Adults are black beetles about 10 mm long

Symptoms

• Redheaded pasture cockchafer larvae do not come to the surface but sever plant roots  just below the surface

• This feeding action causes dry areas in otherwise green paddocks

Damage

• Often serious damage occurs when birds tear up areas of plants in search of larvae

• Direct drilling of crops, or sowing after minimum tillage into infested pastures, can result in cockchafers causing establishment failures

Control

The redheaded cockchafer feeds underground and therefore chemical control is not effective. A fungal pathogen (Metarhizium) is commercially available, but is currently uneconomic for broadacre crop or pasture application. A lack of plant cover during spring reduces redheaded pasture cockchafer larval density the following autumn. Female redheaded cockchafer beetles prefer to lay their eggs under dense spring growth.

Links and Resources

DEPI VIC - Redheaded pasture cockchafer Introduction, identification, lifecycle and growth habits, damage, and control and recovery techniques. Published 1983, updated 2008.

I Spy Manual - Redheaded pasture cockchafer Page 64. Information on blackheaded, redheaded, and yellowheaded pasture cockchafer. Description, confused with/similar to, distribution, pest status and risk period, host range, damage, and monitoring and sampling. Published 2012.

Insectopedia - Redheaded pasture cockchafer Description, biology, damage, monitoring, sampling and control. Published 2000.

SARDI - Redheaded pasture cockchafer 4 page PDF. Identification, damage caused, lifecycle, and cultural, chemical, and biological control. Last updated 1998.