Tens of Thousands of beetles swarm Australian tourist mecca, stumping scientists
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tens of Thousands of beetles swarm Australian tourist mecca, stumping scientists
- From: NewsCore
- March 24, 2011 7:45PM
THE Australian tourist mecca of Surfers Paradise has been swarmed by thousands of beetles in a never-before-seen phenomenon that has stumped local scientists.
The water beetle invasion captured on amateur YouTube footage shows the large black beetles swarming around lights and dropping to the footpath in Surfers Paradise in Queensland - about 70km southeast of Brisbane - last night, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.
Entomologist Professor Clyde Wild from Queensland's Griffith University said he had no definitive explanation for why the beetles had turned up in such large numbers at the beach side holiday hot spot.
"I've never seen swarms of these like this before, why they are at the beach front escapes any explanation I can think of,'' Wild said.
''You might see two or three on any given night - this is literally tens of thousands."
Read more about the Gold Coast beetle invasion and see video at the Gold Coast Bulletin.