Coomaniella lingafelteri Jendek & Pham, 2013

Coomaniella lingafelteri was described in 2013 from Pia Oac Nature Reserve, Cao Bang Province.

 Coomaniella lingafelteri Jendek & Pham, 2013, male - left and female - right

Pukupuku katsurai (Muramoto, 2002)

The species was described by Mr. Masayuki Fujioka under his wife's name Mrs. Rieko Muramoto in 2002. In the original description, the new species belong to Fruhstorferia genus, however the author then erected a new genus and moved two related species Frustorferia curta and F. katsurai to Pukupuku.
The species was named after Mr. Katsura who collected insects from Vietnam in many years, he married a Vietnamese girl, her name is Doan Lan Giang.
Pukupuku katsurai is a very particular species and the mature form flies in a short duration of beginning of spring in North Vietnam so it is quite rare. The species recently also found from South China.
In Vietnam, only a locality was recorded as the habitat of the species, the pristine forest, Pia Oac Nature Reserve, Cao Bang Province, North Vietnam where also is type locality of the species.

Pukupuku katsurai (Muramoto, 2002) - Male in dorsal view

Pukupuku katsurai (Muramoto, 2002) - Male in lateral view

Priotyrannus closteroides (Thomson, 1877)

A quite common species that found in Indochina, they are high elevation forest insects that can be collected mainly by light trap. Small to medium size, the body covered with shining yellow hair.
Season of mature about May to July, they must be found in South China and Laos as well, they are not so common but locally there were not many individuals be observed. Male and female similar in shape.

Priotyrannus closteroides (Thomson, 1877), male

Endemic species of Lucanus from Vietnam

There are 8 species of Lucanus that known only from Vietnam, they usually collected in good forest mountain areas with elevation over 700m.

1. Lucaus dongi

2. Lucanus fujitai (from Fujita 2010)

3. Lucanus fukinukae (from Fujita, 2010)

4. Lucanus luci (from original descrption), this species found from Ngoc Linh, Kon Tum Province (South Center of Vietnam) with large populations.

5. Lucanus kraatzi giangae, this species has been found both from Vietnam and China but the subspecies has known as an endemic taxon of Vietnam, found from Cao Bang Province, North Vietnam

6. Lucanus ngheanus (from Fujita, 2010), the specimens of type were collected from Pu Mat, Nghe An Province, however later this species also be found in Ngoc Linh, Kon Tum Province

7. Lucanus persariini (from Fujita, 2010)

My previous post on Lucanus persariini now is considered as Lucanus pulchelus (8) however its situation should be reviewed in the future.

Sataspes, carpenter bee mimicry hawk moths

Sataspes is a genus of hawk moth, Sphigidae, name of genus is meaning a Persian navigator who is cavalry commander that lead cavalry solders (horse solders). The name is a combination of two parts: sat = 100 and asp = horse with meaning of mun-ti horse team leader.

In Vietnam there are two species (among 9 species of the world) were recorded: Sataspes infernalis and Sataspes tagalica. The previous difference from the later species remarkably in the yellow marking by scales on the dorsal side of the abdomen segments.

Sataspes infernalis from Pia Oac, Cao Bang Province, North Vietnam, photographed by Cuong Do in a cloudy day (elevation about 2000m)

This moth mimic to carpenter bee both in shape and size of the body. Carpenter bee is insects of the genus Xylocopa, they are large size bee and distribute world wide. They build their nests in dead wood (bamboo, timbers...) so they are called carpenter, however some of them have nests in the ground. Xylocopa in Greek meaning wood cutter.

Teinopalpus aureus from Vietnam

Teinopalpus aureus is a rare buttefly that found from high elevation forests. In Vietnam, there has been two subspecies of T. aureus, Teinopalpus aureus shinkaii and Teinopalpus aureus eminens. They are Papilionidae butterflies that listed as protected species.

The subspecies Teinopalpus aureus eminens was described by Turlin in 1991, the male holotype was collected from Dong Nai, South Vietnam (elevation is 1500m) and deposited in Nature History Museum, London, England. The subspecies later be found many high land area in South Vietnam: Di Linh and Bidoup National Park, Lam Dong Province, Dak Nong Province, Hon Ba Nature Reserve, Khanh Hoa Provicne. Recently the subspecies also was found in center of Vietnam (Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh Province).


Dorsal view of male of Teinopalpus aureus eminens, Dak Nong Province.

Mr. Shinkai collected materials of Teinopalpus aureus from Pia Oac Mountain, Cao Bang Province in 1995 and Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc Province from 1990 - 1998. Based on the materials, Morita described the new species and named after Mr. Shinkai, the paper was published in 1998 with the hotoype is male specimen from Pia Oac, Cao Bang, this holotype is deposited in Morita's collection. Recent year, the subspecies also was recorded from Pu Mat, Nghe An Province, North Center of Vietnam.

A male of Teinopalpus aureus shinkaii Morita, 1998, dorsal view (Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc Province)

Teinopalpus aureus shinkaii and Teinopalpus aureus eminens males can be separated by the shape of yellow triangle cell of the hind wings. The triangle cell of shinkaii is much more larger than it of eminens.

 
Triangle cells of hind wings of T. aureus shinkaii (left) and T. aureus eminens (right).

Prismognathus and Eligmondontus from North Vietnam

In 1997, Haruo Ikeda described three new species of Prismognathus from North Vietnam on Gekkan-Mushi, a Japanese entomological journal. They are small size Lucanidae beetles and only found from in high elevation forests. Recently, DNA studies showed that they are closed to Lucanus genus. In this group, before Ikeda's publication, there had been only Eligmondontus kanghianus Didider & Seguy, 1953 that recorded for Vietnamese fauna.

Eligmodontus kanghianus from Lao Cai Province (Sa Pa) (scanned picture from Ikeda's description)

In his paper, except species P. katsurai that found from Cao Bang Province, type specimens of two species P. siniaevi and P. miyashitai found from Sa Pa, Lao Cai Province. Name of the species P. katsurai was honored to a Japanese collector, Mr. Nobuhiko Katsura who still is collecting insect from Vietnam until now; Mr. Victor Siniaev and Mr. Tetsuo Miyashita were honored in two remain species.

Species E. kanghianus and P. siniaevi later also recorded from Pia Oac Mountain, Cao Bang Province but P. miyashitai seem quite rare and only found from Sa Pa, Lao Cai Province in Vietnam.

Prismognathus miyashitai (male holotype and female paratype) in the original description.

Holotype of Prismognathus siniaevi (from original description)

Holotype (large male) and paratype (small male) of Prismognathus katsurai with a remarkable horn of eye canthus (from original description)

There is an interesting part of the description, all the holotype and paratype of three new species were deposited in private collections, not any public collection (Museum or Public collection). It is not to much problem in this case of Prismognathus because it is not too hard to find that three species in locality of holotype. Many taxonomial journals now ask the author deposite the holotype in a public collection before accept the manuscript, then it will help other researchers can access or study the holotype without private problems; particularly if we can not finding the species in locality of type specimens.