Bug FAQGolden Stag Beetle
Lamprima aurata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Lucanidae
Also called: Australian Golden Stag Beetle, Christmas Beetle
The golden stag beetle is 15 to 25 mm long and has an oval, shiny body. It lives in dry sclerophyll forests of Tasmania and south-eastern mainland Australia, where its larvae feed on rotting wood for about two years before adults emerge and fly during the day.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The beetle has an oval, glossy body. Males show metallic golden-green or yellow colours with colourful legs; females can be blue, blue-green or dull brown.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure between 15 and 25 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in dry sclerophyll forests of Tasmania and south-eastern mainland Australia.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae are sapro-xylophagous, feeding on rotting logs for about two years.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae spend two years feeding on decaying wood before pupating. Adult beetles are free-flying and move about on the ground during daylight.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active and fly during the day.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Lamprima aurata is native to Australia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
On the Australian mainland, only Lamprima aurata and the closely related L. imberbis (found in north-eastern New South Wales) occur.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the larvae eat?
The larvae feed on rotting wood, spending about two years inside decaying logs.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find this beetle?
It lives in dry sclerophyll forests of Tasmania and south-eastern mainland Australia.
Source: Wikipedia
Are there similar beetles in Australia?
Yes, the related species Lamprima imberbis occurs in north-eastern New South Wales.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lucanidae)
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Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamprima_aurata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.