Laena walkeri, Schawaller & Aston, 2017

Schawaller, Wolfgang & Aston, Paul, 2017, Two new species of the genus Laena Dejean (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Lagriinae) from Hong Kong, Zootaxa 4344 (1), pp. 169-173 : 171-172

Laena walkeri sp. n. ( Figs. 3, 6 )

Holotype (Ƌ): China, Hong Kong, Lung Fu Shan C. P., # 10 of 18.xi.2014, leg. B. Guénard, SMNS.

Paratypes: Hong Kong, Lung Fu Shan C.P., # 12 of 18.xi.2014, leg. B. Guénard, 1 ex. SMNS . Hong Kong, Lung Fu Shan C.P., # 13 of 18.xi.2014, leg. B. Guénard, 1 ex. SMNS .

Hong Kong, Pak Tam Chung , # 17 of 5.–8.vi.2015, leg. leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. SMNS . # 198 of 30.vi.– 3.vii.2015, Hong Kong, Castle Peak, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. SYSU . # 202 of 30.vi.–3.vii.2015, Hong Kong, Castle Peak, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. SYSU . # 14 of 18.xi.2014, Hong Kong, Lung Fu Shan C.P., leaf litter, disturbed secondary forest, leg. B. Guénard, 1 ♀ ex. SYSU . # 36 of 29.vi.–2.vii.2015, Aberdeen Resevoir, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. SYSU . # 196 of 30.vi.–3.vii.2015, Hong Kong, Castle Peak, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. AFCD . # 7 of 20.xi.2014, Hong Kong University Campus, disturbed secondary forest, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo 1 ex. AFCD . # 39 of 29.vi.–2.vii.2015, Aberdeen Resevoir, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. AFCD . # 38 of 29.vi.–2.vii.2015, Aberdeen Resevoir, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. AFCD . # 9 of 11.ix.2016, Hong Kong, Lantau, Ngong Ping , leg. P. Aston, Winkler extractor, 1 ex. PCPA . # 26 of 3.vii.2016, Hong Kong, Lantau, Ngong Ping , leg. P. Aston, Winkler extractor, 1 ex. PCPA . # 27 of 3.vii.2016, Hong Kong, Lantau, Ngong Ping , leg. P. Aston, Winkler extractor, 1 ex. PCPA . # 201 of 30.vi.–3.vii.2015, Hong Kong, Castle Peak, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. PCPA . # 25 of Hong Kong, Lantau, Ngong Ping , 3.vii.2016, leg. P. Aston, 1 ex. BMNH . # 200 of 30.vi.–3.vii.2015, Hong Kong, Castle Peak, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. BMNH . # 30 of 13–16.vii.2015, Lion Rock , leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. BMNH . # 197 of 30.vi.–3.vii.2015, Hong Kong, Castle Peak, Winkler extractor, leg. R. Ho Lee & Y. Luo, 1 ex. BMNH .

Additional material (all deposited PCPA): # 152 of 14.v.2015, Hong Kong, Sheung Wo Han , leg. R. Ho Lee & Y . Luo. # 11 of 18.xi.2014, Hong Kong, Lung Fu Shan C.P., leaf litter, disturbed secondary forest, leg. B. Guénard.

Description: Body length 3.0– 5.5 mm. Eyes normal, not prominent. Pronotum with large, but not confluent punctures, distance 0.5–2 puncture diameters, most punctures with longer erect setae; surface convex and shining, disc without impressions; lateral margins marked but not completely bordered, not completely rounded; posterior corners rounded; propleura with similar punctuation as on pronotum, but without setation. Elytra ovate with rows of punctures without striae, punctures of rows of similar size as punctures on pronotum, most punctures with longer and erect setae; intervals with a few scattered fine punctures, each bearing an erect seta of equal length, interval 9 with 3 indistinct setiferous pores, all intervals feebly convex; surface shining. Apex of elytra not prolonged. All femora without teeth, in some specimens middle and posterior femora each with a pair of opposite small granula. Tibiae of both sexes without pecularities. Apicale of aedeagus see Fig. 6 .

Diagnosis: L. walkeri sp. n. shares with L. guangxica Schawaller, 2008 from Guangxi the general body shape and size, the dorsal punctuation and setation, as well as the unarmed femora. However, in L. guangxica the pronotal lateral margins are completely bordered, the pronotum is widest in anterior third (widest in the middle in L. walkeri sp. n.), and the aedeagal apicale is broader. L. jiangxica Schawaller, 2008 from Jiangxi and L. guizhouica Schawaller, 2008 from Guizhou have a different body shape and also a completely different aedeagal apicale.

Etymology: Named in honour of John James Walker (1851–1939). Walker was a British marine engineer and voyaged around most of the world, collecting insects when on shore leave (see under Laena ovipennis Schuster, 1926 above). Even though the specimen of Laena ovipennis Schuster, 1926 , attributed by Schuster as having come from Hong Kong, but now known to have come from near Shanghai, Walker did have collecting trips to Hong Kong and Macao. After his retirement Walker lived in Oxford and became one of the editors of the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. Walker's collections from the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and the Mediterranean are housed in the Natural History Museum London and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Ecology: Extreme dates for imago, 14th May to 20th November (no records for August or October, when the leaf litter is dry, most likely due to observer bias). Paler specimens were collected throughout, showing no clear emergence pattern. All specimens were caught by Winkler extractor or pitfall traps from leaf litter in wooded areas above 100 m altitude.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Dorsal view and aedeagus of Laena species. 1 L. hongkongica sp. n., ♂ holotype SMNS. 2 L. ovipennis Schuster, 1926, ♀ holotype BMNH. 3 L. walkeri sp. n., ♂ holotype SMNS. 4 L. ovipennis, non-type Zhejiang SMNS. 5 L. hongkongica sp. n., holotype SMNS. 6 L. walkeri sp. n., holotype SMNS. Scales: 2 mm (1 – 3), 1 mm (4 – 5).