Story: Beetles

Cromwell chafer beetle

The flightless Cromwell chafer beetle (Prodontria lewisii) is restricted to a small area near Cromwell in Central Otago. The adults live in shallow loamy sands, emerging at night during spring and summer to eat plants and lichens. Little is known about the larvae, and no pupae have ever been seen.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP-Zoology-Insects beetles-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

John Marris, Beetles – Beetles and humans, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/14383/cromwell-chafer-beetle (accessed 22 June 2026).

Story by John Marris, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

Phil Parker
23 April 2012

Has anyone mounted an expedition to find a Chafer Beetle Pupae?