Agestrata orichalca orichalca (Linnaeus, 1769)

Perissinotto, Renzo & Clennell, Lynette, 2021, Census of the fruit and flower chafers (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) of the Macau SAR, China, ZooKeys 1026, pp. 17-43 : 17

Agestrata orichalca orichalca (Linnaeus, 1769) Fig. 11

Scarabaeus orichalcus Linnaeus, 1769: 504.

Distribution.

North-eastern India (Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh), the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, the Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan. Also widespread in the Oriental Region ( Bezděk 2016), occurring specifically in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java ( Sakai and Nagai 1998; Krajcik 2011).

Material examined.

1♂: Macau, University of East Asia, 28 May 1989, ER Easton leg (UMEC) ; 1♂: Coloane , Cheoc Van, 15 Jun 2019, crushed on road under street light, R Perissinotto & L Clennell (MACT); unknown sex: Alto de Coloane, 18 Oct 2020, elytron found under spot-light, R Perissinotto & L Clennell (MACT) .

Other Macau records.

Taipa, University of East Asia Campus, 3 Sep 1991, near library (in Easton 1991: 111, misspelt as Agestrata orichalea ); No locality and date, 42 mm (in Pun and Batalha 1997: 65, fig. 107, misspelt as Agestrata orichalcea ); Alto de Coloane, 18 Aug 2020, on spot-light surface, R Perissinotto & L Clennell; St. Francis Xavier’s Parish [Coloane], 18 Aug 2020, 14:55, L Clennell (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/56913518).

Remarks.

This is by far the largest cetoniine beetle in Macau, reaching a total length of 40-45 mm and a maximum width of 18-20 mm. Although it is regularly recorded in nearby Hong Kong (see e.g., https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=7613&subview=grid&taxon_id=127588), it is a rare occurrence in Macau. During this study only two males were recorded, one crushed on a road under a street light and a second, which also died after flying into an incandescent spot-light at the Coloane A-Mà statue. The remnants of a third specimen were also retrieved in October 2020 under the same spot-light. According to Yiu (2010), this species feeds on a variety of fruits in captivity and is attracted to artificial light at night. The 3rd instar larva of this species was comprehensively described and illustrated by Zhang (1984). The larval stage is most probably strictly saproxylic, and thereby depends on availability of decomposing tree trunks, which are rapidly disappearing in the area as more and more parts of the remaining natural vegetation are converted to city parks and gardens.

Figures

Figure 11. Agestrata orichalca orichalca (Linnaeus, 1769): dorsal (left) and side (right) views of male specimen observed at Alto de Coloane on 18 Aug 2020 (photographs: Lynette Clennell).