Vietetropis viridis Komiya, 1997

 Vietetropis viridis Komiya, 1997 is a remarkable species of Prioninae beetle from Indochina with colorful body. As name of the species, both male and female have metallic shining color, the male is metallic green while female is shining blue. In the paper, Komiya described the new species belong a new genus Vietetropis, until now, there is only one species of the genus has been known.

They are day-flying insects so it is impossible to collect them by light trap, the matures were found from pine forests at elevation about 700m. The species was described based on materials that collected from North Vietnam. The species also was recorded in Laos and south China.

 Vietetropis viridis Komiya, 1997, male

 Vietetropis viridis Komiya, 1997, female

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

Protohermes grandis (Thunberg, 1781)

Protohermes grandis (Thunberg, 1781) is a colorful species of dobsolfly, belong to Megaloptera order. It is an aquatic insect that larvae live in the water, mainly clear streams. The mature with wings is attracted to the light. They are quite common species, found in Indochina, China, Taiwan and Japan.

A individual of Protohermes grandis (Thunberg, 1781) on the light trap sheet, Mau Son Mountain, elevation about 1500m 

Casiphia (Raucocasiphia) takakuwai Komiya, 2009

A special species of Prioninae, Casiphia takakuwai is second member of the genus that found in Vietnam, the species is closed to related species C. vietnamica. Casiphia belong to tribe Anacolini of subfamily Prioninae with very particular antenna of male. The two species of the genus belong to subgenus Raucocasiphia and female of both species with simple antenna.
Not same to C. vietnamica, female of C. takakuwai colorful and there are 2 forms of males, black form and yellow/orange or red form. The characteristic for quick recognizing two species is apex of the elytra, in C. takakuwai the tips are point but round in C. vietnamica.
C. takakuwai only known in the location where the holotype of the species was found, Pu Mat National Park, Nghe An Province with elevation about 700m.
There is no much information about behavior of the beetles of Casiphia, however they are day flying insects and the males be attracted by some kind of  organic compose that released by female, the organic compose maybe similar to product as burning gasoline because the males of the genus also come to exhaust of machines/generators.

Male of Casiphia (Raucocasiphia) takakuwai - Black form

Male of Casiphia (Raucocasiphia) takakuwai - Yellow/orange or red form

Female of Casiphia (Raucocasiphia) takakuwai

Aegolipton roubali Komiya, Drumont & Lorenc, 2012

Aegolipton roubali was described based on the materials collected from Vietnam and Laos.
The holotype was collected from Ngoc Linh, Kon Tum Province, South Center of Vietnam in 2010.
In Laos, this speces found in Dackchung and belong to Sekong Province.
Name of species to honor Mr. Viktor Roubal, University of Ulm (Germany)
Whole body of the species is covered with yellow-whitish hairs.

Male of Aegolipton roubali, specimen from Kon Tum Province

Dinoprionus cooperi Drumont & Do, 2015

A new species of longhorn beetle, Prioninae, Cerambycidae found from Indochina area, the new species was name after Dr. Bob Cooper in Army Malaria Institute. Dr. Cooper had co-worked with the second author of the species on Malaria mosquitoes in Vietnam for 5 years (2005-2010).
This is the second species of the genus has been described.

Dinoprionus cooperi Drumont & Do, 2015

Dr. Bob Cooper, feeding the mosquitoes by his blood 

Aegosoma george Do, 2015 new species of Prioninae from South Vietnam

As reviewing the genus Aegosoma, the author found a new species of the genus from South Vietnam, and it was named after an cartoon character, George Pig, Aegosoma george.

Male and female of Aegosoma george

Male of holotype of Aegosoma george

George is a character in the children's cartoon video series 'Peppa Pig', which is produced by the English television entertainment company Astley Baker Davies Ltd. George is Peppa's little brother and the youngest member in the family. The author's five-year old son suggested George as the species epithet for this new Aegosoma, because A. george is the latest discovery in the genus.

George Pig in blue, he love playing with dinosaur toy and he is youngest member in Peppa Pig family

George Pig and Peppa Pig

Silkmoth Pupa, a Vietnamese food from insects

The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx sp. belong to Bombycidae family, Lepidoptera order. It is an economically important insect of Vietnam in the past as well as now a day, being a primary producer of silk.

Many villages in North Vietnam were famous with raising silkworms and harvesting cocoons, they feed the silkworms with mulberry leaves.

Silkworms are being feed with mulberry leaves

In the silkworms farm, thousand individuals of silkworms are being bred every day

Then they harvest the cocoon of silkworms to make the nature silk

The best quality cocoon are selected for the industry of nature silk

However they don't waste the remain cocoon after selection for silk, the pupa of the cocoon is released

In Vietnam, you can easy to find and buy pupa of silkworm in any local market, and it is one of the most common insect food in Vietnam. It known as a high protein food with very tasty and famous.

From the market, pupae are washed and quick boiled before being dried up

Lemon leaves were cut into tiny stripes

And the fresh onion leaves as well

The silkmoth pupae will be fried with lemon and onion leaves, sometime they add pepper and chilies. Lemongrass also can be added as an option. Fish sauce never lack as frying silkmoth pupae.

And today, in some Vietnamese families, they can make them with mayonnaise.

Small insects and spiders on forest leafs of Cuc Phuong National Park

Cuc Phuong is a National Park of North Vietnam, it is one of the most early national parks of the country. It is a low elevation forest and surrounded by limestone range.

It is not very far from Hanoi (about 120km) to the South and the forest in a very good condition. The national park located at border of Thanh Hoa and Ninh Binh Province. There is a tourist system in side of the National Park that you can stay over night, the road system in good condition so you can walk, ride bicycle, motor cycle or drive a car go through the Park without problem. On two sides of the main road, and in a summer days, there are a lot of insects that you can observe or taking photograph. The fauna of Cuc Phuong maybe similar to Ba Vi National Park however because it is a low land forest so it some how difference.

Insect/Spider watching is one of the most interesting thing in Cuc Phuong, however watching of birds, snails or amphibians... also is not bad option.

Zemeros sp. Riodinidae, photographed by Cuong Do 

Heliophorus sp. Lycaenidae, photographed by Cuong Do

Hesperiidae, photographed by Cuong Do

A small and colorful lotus/cricket (orthoptera), photographed by Cuong Do

A small wasp Ichneumonidae with white antenna and long ovipositor, photographed by Cuong Do

Large size ant with yellow metallic body and spiny abdomen, Polyrhachis sp. photographed by Cuong Do 

Funny shape of couple of flies are mating, photographed by Cuong Do

Spiny bug (Valentina hoffmanni, Reduviidae, Hepiptera/Heteroptera), photographed by Cuong Do 

A young bug, the wing not yet appear (Hemiptera/Heteroptera), photographed by Cuong Do

An exuviae of a cicada (Homoptera), photographed by Cuong Do

A small bug, Callitettix versicolor Cercopidae (Homoptera), photographed by Cuong Do 

A tumbling flower beetle, Mordellidae, photographed by Cuong Do

A small weevil, curculionidae beetle, photographed by Cuong Do

Two larva of Lepidoptera with brigten yellow stripes, photographed by Cuong Do

A spiny spider, photographed by Cuong Do

A spider nearly finish its lunch (a larvae), photographed by Cuong Do

A spiny leg spider, Oxyopes sp. (Oxyopidae) photographed by Cuong Do

Eterusia tricolor Hope, 1840 Day Flying Moth, Zygaenidae

Eterusia tricolor is a species of moth belong to Zygaenidae family, they are day-flying moths with very colorful wings. Members of the family have been know with hydrogen cyanide in all states of their life cycle. Color of the insects is signal of information that they are toxic insects and they use hydrogen cyanide as a defense factor to protect them from predator.

Eterusia tricolor is quite common species in high mountains of Vietnam, they are weak flying insects and usually fly over the canopy of the forests. As being damaged, they release from their body some drops (mixed with air) of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a defensing behavior.

A individual of Eterusia tricolor

A being touched, the insect releases a droplet of hydrogen cyanide (HCN)