Lucanus planeti Planet, 1899

A quite common species that found from Thailand, Vietnam and South China (Yunnan, Shichuan, Guangxi); they are very varietal in body size. It close to Lucanus vitalisi and Lucanus laminifer but clearly difference in structure of clypeus.

 

 
Male of Lucanus planeti Planet, 1899

Tricondyla (Tricondyla) mellyi Chaudoir, 1850

A species belong to Cicidelidae (Tiger beetle), Tricondyla (Tricondyla) mellyi Chaudoir, 1850 is an interesting species. The species was recorded from China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar; no record from Cambodia has been reported yet but it must be also found in the country.

In Vietnam, there are 132 recorded species of Cicidelidae and 11 species of Tricondyla have been found from the country.

Head, close up

Detail structure of the elytra

Aphrodisium (Aphrodisium) cantori (Hope, 1840)

A shining blue (and green in some cases) metallic insect, they are medium to large size long horn beetles. They are wide distribution in Indochina area however not common even locally. Matures found in middle or late of summer every year and only found in pristine forests. A brighten and very beautiful insect.

Aphrodisium (Aphrodisium) cantori (Hope, 1840) dorsal view

Aphrodisium (Aphrodisium) cantori (Hope, 1840) lateral view

Aphrodisium (Aphrodisium) cantori (Hope, 1840) head in close view

Aphrodisium (Opacaphrodisium) griffithi Pic, 1932

The species is the second species of subgenus Opacaphrodisium. Its related species Aphrodisium (Opacaphrodisium) alabardae was recorded from Java, Indonesia. A. griffithi found from Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and maybe also South China. The subgenus is an evidence of relation of Indochina and Indonesia-Malaysia fauna.

Aphrodisium griffithi - lateral view

Aphrodisium griffithi - dorsal view

Aphrodisium griffithi - Head close up

Priotyrannus hueti Drumont, 2008

This species is one of two members of the genus that found from Vietnam. P. hueti was described from North of Vietnam by Alain Drumont in 2008 base on materials from Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc Province.
It is medium large size, as compared to related species Priotyrannus closteroides (Thomson, 1877). The most remarkable characteristic of the species is a lobe on lateral side of pronotum on both male and female specimens.

Male of Priotyrannus hueti Drumont, 2008

Casiphia, reduced elytra long horn beelts from Vietnam

There are two species of Casiphia from Vietnam, the males of the genus with reduced elytra and they are one of very interesting prioninae of Vietnamese fauna. Casiphia vietnamica found from Tam Dao National Park while Casiphia takukawai found from Pu Mat National Park, Nghe An Provincee. Not like almost of other Prionid beeltes, species of genus Casiphia can be collected by catching during the day, not light trap.

Except the elytra of the males, antenna of males also very special shape with combed form. While male of species Casiphia vietnamica is black or red black, the species Casiphia takakuwai has two forms, black form and yellow (orange) forms. 

Casiphia takakuwai male have elytra shape clearly difference from it of Casiphia vietnamica. In C. takakuwai there is a spine at apical lateral side of elytra but in C. vietnamica, there is no spine in the same position and the elytra somehow look shorter.

Casiphia vietnamica, female (above) and male (below)

Black form of Casiphia takakuwai

Protosticta satoi (Asahina, 1997)

The first record of the species was made by Asahina in 1997. Based on a single female, which was collected from Tam Dao National Park, Asahina erected the new subspecies Protosticta khaosoidaoensis satoi. Later, in 2008, Van Tol studied specimens collected from Cuc Phuong National Park, Ninh Binh Province, Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam and compared them to Protosticta beaumonti Wilson 1997 dark form from Guangxi, China (Wilson & Reels 2003). Based on the material from Cuc Phuong National Park, he concluded that “satoi” is a distinct species, differing from the Thailand species, P. khaosoidaoensis. Van Tol believed it possible that specimens from Cuc Phuong, the female from Tam Dao (Asahina, June 1997) and P. beaumonti Wilson, March 1997 from Hong Kong might belong to the same species but elected to establish P. satoi as a distinct species. It is possible, and perhaps most likely, that the dark form P. beaumonti from Guangxi sensu Wilson & Reels 2003 is indeed distinct from P. beaumonti Wilson, 1997 and is synonymous with P. satoi (Asahina, 1997).

It is small size Protosticta damselfly with tiny body and dark colour. The head is black with dark green compose eyes. The prothorax is nearly entry cream white, while the synthorax is mostly shining green black except two cream white markings at the border next to the abdomen and below the hind wings. All of the basal segments of three legs are cream-white, the femurs as well as tibias are also cream-white but darker. The wings are hyaline, little bit more than or proximal haft of the abdomen, with dark brown pterostigmas. The abdomen is dark brown with cream yellow or white markings; the 9^th segment is cream white. The anal appendages are dark brown. Male and female of the species are quite similar.

They are found at clean, running streams in good forests of high mountain area, the elevation is about more than 700m. The flying forms usually live very near the breeding sites with high humidity. Similar to other members of the family, they are slow flying insects and hide in shade of the forests.

 
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Emerging of Protosticta satoi, photographed by Cuong Do, the processing happens at a forest stream in Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc Province

Lucanus persarinii Zilioli, 1998 and Lucanus kazumiae ZIlioli, 1998

Lucanus is a very diversity genus in Vietnam, particularly North Vietnam; the species Lucanus persarinii was described by Zilioli in 1998. The author based on a single specimen that collected from Tam Dao 2 (in his paper the name of the locality is Tam Dao Hai), the holotype was not deposited in a public museum but in the author private collection.

Lucanus persarinii never been studied in a series of specimens and the hotlotype seem is a medium male. In the same paper, Zilioli also described another new species that found from Cao Bang Province, the species Lucanus kazumiae. The single holotype was based for the description and it is a large male, author also kept the holotype in his private collection. The species Lucanus persarinii never been recorded again in Tam Dao because the habitats of insects of the national park now have been changed very much, and the species Lucanus kazumiae from Cao Bang has not been confirmed again.

In the field trip to North Vietnam this year, 2014, I found a species with a series of sizes, from small to large males. An interesting thing is the medium male matched very well to Lucanus persarinii, but the large males are very similar to the species Lucanus kazumiae. So my opinion it is very possible that two species described by Zilioli just an one species.

The question about Lucanus persarinii and Lucanus kazumiae are synonyms only be answered if a series of each species be compared together. The photos below are the first time the species Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae be recorded in nature with life photos.

 

Medium size male of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014 (external morphology matches with Lucanus persarinii in the original description)

Large size male of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014 (external morphology matches with Lucanus kazumiae in the original description)

Small size male of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014

Female of Lucanus persarinii/Lucanus kazumiae, photographed by Cuong Do, 2014