Morphological description of the third instar larva ofLasiotrichius succinctus hananoi(Sawada) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Trichiini), using scanning electron microscopy

Cetoniinae is one of the showiest scarab groups, exhibiting bright-metallic body colors, and usually attract great attention from entomologists and amateur collectors. Larvae of Cetoniinae show dramatically diversity on morphology and living habits.Althoughbeing considered one of the best-studied groups of Scarabaeidae, larvae have been described for less than 5% species to the known Cetoniinae. In this study, the final instar larva ofLasiotrichius succinctus hananoiwas described using scanning electron microscopy. The larvae are peculiar for bearing a haptomeral process dividing 10 spines into two groups: six on the left side, four on the right side, different from the previous descriptions onL. succinctus(Pallas, 1781). The morphological differences under SEM imply the further requirement of taxonomic revision inLasiotrichius. Both advantage and disadvantage of SEM utilizing in larval descriptions were briefly discussed.

Automated summary

Cetoniinae is one of the most colorful scarab groups, with larvae exhibiting diverse morphological and living habits. This study described the final instar larva of Lasiotrichius succinctus hananoi and discussed the need for further taxonomic revision due to morphological differences. The advantages and disadvantages of using scanning electron microscopy in larval descriptions were briefly discussed.