Melolontha virescens (Brenske, 1896)

Gupta, Devanshu, Keith, Denis, Bhunia, Debika, Das, Priyanka, Ghosh, Joyjit & Chandra, Kailash, 2023, Review of Melolontha Fabricius, 1775 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from India with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 5263 (2), pp. 191-216 : 193

Melolontha virescens (Brenske, 1896)

( Figs. 2 , 14 , 42 , 54 )

Hoplosternus virescens Brenske 1896b: 202 (type locality: Darjeeling, Sikkim); Brenske 1900: 154; Dalla Torre 1912: 265 (catalogue); Zhang 1988: 243 (new record, description in Chinese); Li & Yang 2003: 223 (diagnosis, lectotype designation).

Melolontha virescens: Bezděk 2006: 196 (catalogue); Li et al. 2010: 342 (key), 344 (checklist), fig. 11 [misspelt as Melolontha virescena ]; Keith & Saltin 2012: 23 (distribution); Pathania et al. 2015a: 53, 54 (distribution); Pathania et al. 2015b: 131 (distribution); Bezděk 2016: 233 (catalogue).

Melolontha amplipennis Frey 1975: 238 (type locality: Bhutan, Thimpu); Sabatinelli & Migliaccio 1982: 109 (diagnosis), figs. 10, 11; Sabatinelli 1992: 615 (catalogue); Li & Yang 2003: 223 (as a junior synonym of H. virescens ).

Material examined. India, West Bengal: Darjeeling, v.1912, 03.v.1912, 1♁, leg. Carmichael ( NZSI); Kurseong , 5,000ft. 1♁, leg. Lynch C. [ NZSI]; Darjeeling, Sukhipokhari, 18.xi.1994, 1♁, leg. B.C. Nandi [ NZSI] . India, Sikkim: Ranipool , 15.iv.1994, 1♀, on grass, leg. P.H. Roy [ NZSI] . India, Arunachal Pradesh: district Papumpare, Itanagar, ZSI Complex , 08.ii.2002, 1♁, at light, leg. P.B. Thapa [ NZSI]; district Papumpare , Itanagar , ZSI Complex , 19.v.2002, 1♁, leg. P.T. Bhutia [ NZSI]; district Tawang , Namtsering , 27.5337N, 91.6736E, 1,428m, 15.iv.2018, 3♀, 17.iv.2018, 1♀, leg. Jagdish Saini [ NZSI] .

Diagnosis. Refer to the key to the species groups.

Distribution. India: Arunachal Pradesh (new record), Himachal Pradesh ( Pathania et al. 2015a, 2015b), Sikkim ( Brenske 1896b), and West Bengal (Darjeeling) ( Brenske 1896b); Bhutan ( Frey 1975), China ( Dalla & Torre 1912; Zhang 1988), Nepal ( Sabatinelli & Migliaccio 1982), and Pakistan ( Keith & Saltin 2012).

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Habitus of Melolontha species. 1, M. guttigera; 2, M. virescens; 3, M. arunachalensis new species (holotype); 4, M. lachungensis new species (holotype).

FIGURES 13–18. Pygidium of Melolontha species. 13, M. guttigera; 14, M. virescens; 15, M. arunachalensis new species (holotype); 16, M. lachungensis new species (holotype); 17, M. aeneicollis; 18, M. cuprescens.

FIGURES 41–46. Parameres of Melolontha species in dorsal view. 41, M. guttigera; 42, M. virescens; 43, M. arunachalensis new species (holotype); 44, M. lachungensis new species (holotype); 45, M. aeneicollis; 46, M. cuprescens.

FIGURES 53–64. Parameres of Melolontha species in lateral view. 53, M. guttigera; 54, M. virescens; 55, M. arunachalensis new species (holotype); 56, M. lachungensis new species (holotype); 57, M. aeneicollis; 58, M. cuprescens; 59, M. chinensis; 60, M. nepalensis; 61, M. carinata; 62, M. indica; 63, M. flabellata; 64, M. furcicauda.