Protaetia (Liocola) speculifera (Swartz, 1817)

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

Protaetia (Liocola) speculifera (Swartz, 1817) Fig. 8

Cetonia speculifera Swartz, 1817: 53.

Distribution.

In the Palearctic Region this species is only known from the Chinese provinces of Hainan, Henan, Hunan and Jiangxi ( Sakai and Nagai 1998; Bezděk 2016). It has also been recorded in the Oriental Region from northern Vietnam and Laos ( Krajcik 2011).

Material examined.

1♂: Coloane , A-Mà Cultural Village, 19 Jun 2019, dead under tree, R Perissinotto & L Clennell (MACT) .

Other Macau records.

Alto de Coloane, 14 Jun 2019, on sap flow of Albizia lebbeck , R Perissinotto & L Clennell; ibidem 5 Jul 2020, on sap flow of Sapium discolor , R Perissinotto & L Clennell; Coloane Village, 8 Jul 2020, landing on tree trunk, R Perissinotto & L Clennell.

Remarks.

This species has a rather sporadic occurrence in Macau, having been observed only twice in 2019 and always on sap flows of Albizia lebbeck , and then again on another two occasions in 2020, on sap flows of Sapium discolor and in hovering flight respectively (pers. obs.). Adult size varies in the approximate range of 20-23 mm TL and 11-13 mm MW. Although it has not been recorded formally from nearby Hong Kong, a few observations reported on the citizen science platform iNaturalist from that area (e.g., https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25994523; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/24358351; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1126433) indicate that this species [or the closely related P. (L.) brevitarsis (Lewis, 1879)] may occur there too. It has probably been overlooked in the past, as superficially it resembles quite well P. (C.) orientalis orientalis both in size and general appearance. Even an alerted observer needs to be within close distance in order to be able to appreciate the stockier body shape, the reduction of white maculation on the dorsal surface and the gold-red sheen that allow the diagnosis of this species against P. (C.) orientalis orientalis . Adult activity of P. (L.) speculifera in Macau seems to be restricted to the summer months.

Figures

Figure 8. Protaetia (Liocola) speculifera (Swartz, 1817): dorsal (left) and side (right) views of typical specimens observed at Coloane on 14 Jun 2019 and 8 Jul 2020, respectively (photographs: Lynette Clennell).