Pteroptyx maipo Ballantyne, a new species of bent-winged firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) from Hong Kong, and its relevance to firefly biology and conservation

Abstract

Pteroptyx maipo sp. nov. is the first record of the genus Pteroptyx Olivier from mainland China and Hong Kong and represents the most northerly record for this genus. The description includes all life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult, and covers special structures such as the female bursa plates and male copulatory clamp. Details of habitat, male courtship flash patterns and male-female courtship behaviour are described. This species is the second in the genus Pteroptyx found to use a copulatory clamp, which functions to wedge the mating pair together. A complete clamp however does not appear necessary for successful insemination. Bursa plates hold the spermatophore partially projecting into a spermatophore-digesting gland. Other functions for the plates are investigated and discussed. The deflexed elytral apex appears after eclosion in the adult male. Mechanisms for the loss of ventrite 8 in the male abdomen are explored. A list of the 30 Pteroptyx species recognised here, with habitats, some morphological characteristics and a key to species of the Oriental Pteroptyx are provided.

Systematic review of the firefly genus Scissicauda (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Amydetinae) from Brazil

“…Phallus with ventral plate is a condition found in other lampyrids as the Luciolinae (Ballantyne et al 2011), Ototretinae (Janisova and Bocakova 2012), Photurinae (Rosa 2007) and Amydetes Illiger, 1807 (Silveira and Mermudes 2014a). However, several other taxa lack it, as Lampyrinae: Lampyrini (Geisthardt, 1982), Cratomorphini and Photinini (Zaragoza, 1995), and Pleotomini (Jeng et al, 2006).…”

New Record ofPteroptyx tenerOlivier (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) in Thailand

“…Pteroptyx Olivier (Lampyridae: Luciolinae) is a genus of fireflies native to Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and Hong Kong (Ballantyne and McLean 1970;Ballantyne et al 2011). The genus is characterized by a distinct trilobed terminal abdominal sternite (Ballantyne and Mclean 1970) and a deflexed elytral apex visually observed in males as a bent-wing tip used to clamp onto females during mating and to prevent the capture of females by other males (Ballantyne and McLean 1970;Wing et al 1983;Ballantyne 2001;Cheng et al 2010).…”

“…Recently, the bent-winged fireflies of New Guinea and Australia were assigned to two genera: Medeopteryx Ballantyne and Trisinuata Ballantyne (Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013). To date, twelve species of Pteroptyx sensu stricto are recognized: P. asymmetria Ballantyne; P. bearni Olivier; P. decolor Olivier; P. gelasina Ballantyne; P. maipo Ballantyne; P. malaccae Olivier; P. macdermotti McLean; P. masatakai Kawashima; P. sulawesiensis Kawashima; P. tener Olivier; P. truncata Ballantyne; and P. valida Olivier (Ballantyne et al 2011;Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013).…”

“…The habitats of these fireflies are diverse, ranging from mangroves, along rivers, inland to highlands (Ballantyne et al 2011). The mangrove-inhabiting species of Pteroptyx primarily aggregate on Sonneratia caseolaris (L.) Engler (Sonneratiaceae), Nypa fruticans Wurmb.…”

“…Researchers have identified six genera and more than 15 species (Hutacharern et al 2007;Thancharoen et al 2007), but over 50 species are thought to occur in the country. Of the 15 known species, only two, Pteroptyx species, P. malaccae and P. valida, are observed in mangrove areas throughout Thailand (Lloyd et al 1989;Ballantyne 2001;Ballantyne et al 2011;Ballantyne and Lambkin 2013). These mangrove areas cover 24 provinces of the eastern, central, and southern parts of the country; half of the mangroves reside in southern Thailand throughout 12 provinces: Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Pattani, and Narathiwat on the Thai Gulf coast; and Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang, and Satun on the Andaman Sea coast (Thampanya et al 2006), with the southernmost connected to the Malay Peninsula.…”