Cheloderus childreni is named after J. G. Children, the first keeper of the Zoology Department at the British Museum of Natural History. Cheloderus childreni is the only species in the genus. This insect is widely distributed in Chile and is often associated with large-diameter trees, but generally it is not encountered in large numbers in any tree or group of trees. Damage is caused by the wood boring activity of the larvae deep within the xylem of living Nothofagus trees.