Christmas beetles are large (20–30 mm long) members of the scarab family that are noisy and clumsy fliers, similar to the cockchafers of Europe.

They typically have elytra that are dark or light brown, or green, while some species have a green-yellow iridescence.

The genus includes 35 species, several of which have been implicated in dieback of eucalypts.

Anoplognathus pallidicollis is the species most commonly observed and associated with the name of Christmas beetle.

[2] The smaller Argentine lawn beetle, Cyclocephala signaticollis, is prevalent in December and may also be referred to as a "Christmas beetle", labelled by the Australian Museum as an "impostor".