Herculaisia, the Hercules Beetles

Herculaisia is a genus of Cetoniinae subfamily, Scarabaeidae family; some authors recorded it as family level, Cetoniidae. Members of Cetoniinae also known as flower chafer though many of them feed on tree sap, fungi or fruit, not flowers.

Name of the genus origin from Hercules, a Roman name of the famous hero of Greek mythology, Heracles. Heracles is haft man, haft god; he is a son of Zeus, the King of Gods, and a mortal woman (her name is Alcmene). Zeus named Heracles to honor his wife, Hera, and  "heracles" is meaning of  Hera's glory. Hera, the Queen of Gods, who is Zeus's wife, tried to kill Heracles by sent to his crib two snakes as he just a baby. However Heracles killed them all, each one in each hand. As grow up, Heracles was compelled to perform a series of heroic tasks for his cousin Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae. One of the tasks is killing the Hydra, a monster that relate to his dead later. Hydra is munti-head monster, that lived in the swamps of Lerna, and be known as an position monster (lethal can be found in its breath, blood or even footprints). Heracles cut off all the head of the monster Hydra with help of his nephew, Iolaus; as soon as Heracles cut off one Hydra's head, his nephew was there to sear the wounded neck with flame to prevent many more snaky head grow up. Hydra's blood related to his dead, as trying to cross the river with his third wife, Deianara, Heracles allowed a centaur, named Nessus, to ferry Deianara across the river but then the centaur had attacked her on the other side. Heracles killed him with an arrow that treated by poisonous Hydra blood. Before Nessus die, he told Deinara to keep some of his blood for a love potion. Deinara used some on Heracles' tunic to keep him faithful, little realizing that it had been poisoned with Hydra venom from the arrow. Heracles donned the tunic and died in agony.

Hercules and the Hydra, painted by Antonio del Polaiolo (1431-1498) Florence, Rome

The genus Herculaisia was erected by Seilliere in 1910, in description of the species Herculaisia satanas, the species found from North Vietnam, Ha Giang. There are only two species of the genus, the second species also found from Ha Giang and South China, Herculaisia malaleuca was transferred from the genus Neophaedimus. H. melaleuca much more common than it related species H. stanas.

Male of Herculaisia melaleuca (Fairmaire, 1899)

Male of Herculaisia satanas Seilliere, 1910

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

Acherontia, Death's head hawk moth

Acherontina, name of a genus of Sphigidae (Hawk moths), with original from the Greek Myth, Akheron or Acheron is naming of the river of pain/sorrow, it is a stream and swampy lake of the underworld and its god. The river, where daimon Kharon ferried souls of dead went across the black water of the river. So Kharon or Charon is the transporter the souls of dead across the river that between living world and the world of dead. 

They look somehow beautiful moths except the human's feeling about the shape of marking on their pronotum, look like a skull of man. There has not been true answer about why nature selection made that kind of shape on the moths but its scientific name fully with dead/death gods. Also in English and many other language, it is meaning death or death relation.

In Vietnam, there are two species of Acherontia: A. lachesis and A. styx, the previous somehow more common and larger and colorful than the later. They are quite common in high elevation mountain forests and strongly attracted insects by light, known as a mimic bee scent as well.

Acherontia lachesis, dorsal view

Acherontia styx, dorsal view

Chlorogomphus nakamurai Karube, 1995

This rare species has only been found in Cuc Phuong and Ba Vi National Parks, Vietnam, from where Haruki Karube described it in 1995. The dragonfly was named after Mr. Nakamura.

It is a beautiful and large-sized dragonfly; the male being deep black with bright yellow markings on the thorax and abdomen. The wings of the males are hyaline with the exception on the tips, while females have remarkable dark marking on their wings.

They are found at shaded, clear streams in the forest. The male usually patrols along the forest stream, looking for females, which only descend from the tree-canopies for mating and eggs laying. Once the female has found a suitable breeding side, the eggs are released directly to the surface of slow-flowing water.

The population of the species is stable in Cuc Phuong now, however no more record of its distribution in Ba Vi National Park, then it was accessed in VU level in IUCN Redlist because the limitation of distributed area.

Male of Chlorogomphus nakamurai, photographed by Cuong Do, Cuc Phuong National Park

Flying female of Chlorogomphus nakamurai, photographed by Cuong Do, Cuc Phuong National Park

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.

Rhaetulus maii Maeda, 2009 and Dorcus cuongi Maeda, 2009

In 2009, Mr. Takeshi Maeda published a paper in which three new species of Lucanidae were described: Lucanus dongi, Rhaetulus maii and Dorcus cuongi.

All specimens of three species were collected from Kon Tum Province (misspelling as Contum in the paper) in 2008 by Mr. Nguyen The Dong, an insect catcher who lives in Tam Dao Town. The species Lucanus dongi and Dorcus cuongi has been confirmed of another locality in Quang Nam Province (in two year: 2013, 2014) while Rhaetulus maii has not been recorded from anywhere else except the locality of type series (Kon Tum Province).

Since three species was published, none of them has been recorded again or rediscovered from the locality of type specimens (Kon Tum Province), and the question about the true locality of the type specimens is still a mystery of science. However, they maybe all are endemic species of Vietnamese fauna.

There is an interesting story about the name of three species, they were name after members of Mr. Nguyen The Dong's family: Nguyen The Mai is Mr. Nguyen The Dong's father and Nguyen The Cuong is name of his son. "Mai", "Dong" and "Cuong" in Vietnamese are their fist name and they all belong to Nguyen family.

Takeshi Maeda is a Japanese entomologist and insect collector who had worked a long time in Vietnam, he also has a long previous co-working with Mr. Nguyen The Dong on Vietnamese stag beetle fauna. He can speak Vietnamese quite well. Now, he is working mainly in India-Myanmar fauna.

Type of series specimens of Rhaetulus maii (scan from the original description)

Type of series specimens of Dorcus cuongi (scan from the original description)