Long-headed lanternfly genus recorded in Vietnam for the first time
Only three species of this long-headed lanternfly genus have been described worldwide. In Vietnam, specimens were found in Huế and Đà Nẵng.
The species Neoalcathous annamica: A (dorsal view), B (head), C (ventral view), D (frons, ventral view), E (lateral view), F (head and thorax, lateral view). (Photo: VAST).
Scientists from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Vietnam National Museum of Nature (Bảo tàng Thiên nhiên Việt Nam) have discovered and described a long-headed lanternfly species new to science. The insect is described in detail in the international journal Belgian Journal of Entomology, and belongs to the genus Neoalcathous Wang & Huang, 1989 (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridae).
Only three species in this long-headed lanternfly genus have been described worldwide, and this is the first time the genus has been recorded in Vietnam. The specimens were collected in 2018 in Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province, now a centrally governed city in central Vietnam) and in Đà Nẵng city, and are held at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and at the Vietnam National Museum of Nature, part of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (Viện Hàn lâm Khoa học và Công nghệ Việt Nam).
Compared with other lanternflies, members of this genus have a more elongated head, slightly developed ridges above the eyes, and a large black mark in the middle area beside the ridge of the pronotum. The male measures about 27.8 mm in body length including the head. The description of the new species from Vietnam extends the known range of the genus.
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