Callytron Gistel 1848
Creators: name: Aston, Paul
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Callytron

description: Genus Callytron Gistel, 1848
Callyton andersoni (Gestro, 1889)
New record for Hong Kong. This species has only recently been discovered in China from Yunnan province (Wu & Shook 2007) and is new to the Hong Kong fauna. Specimens determined by J. Wiesner. Material: Sight record W.T., 21.v.05; Sight record W.T., 31.v.05; 1 ex. W.T., 28.v.09 (JWPC); 2 exx., W.T., 28.v.09 (JWPC); 1 ex. W.T., 30.v.09. Biology: Imago found only in May. To date this species has only been found on Lantau island in barren hill areas and is possibly associated with areas where fire has recently destroyed the ground vegetation 1 to 3 years prior. This species is fully winged and readily flies.
Callytron inspeculare inspeculare (Horn, 1904)
Horn (1904) described this species, from Hong Kong and Shanghai specimens as a subspecies of C. nivicinctum. Also listed as occurring in Hong Kong by Horn (1930), Hori & Cassola (1989), Wiesner (1992), Hua (2002), Puchkov & Matalin (2003) and Shook & Wiesner 2006. This species is very similar to C. nivicinctum (Chevrolat, 1845), but is supposed to be associated with reed beds (Shook, pers. comm.). See Hori & Cassola (1989) for identification.
Callytron nivicinctum (Chevrolat, 1845)
Another species Chevrolat described from the environs of Macao. First recorded in Hong Kong under this name by Bates (1866) and a year later by Redtenbacher (1867) under the name Cincindela niveo-cincta. It is quite probable that this is the species alluded to by Bowring in his letter to Westwood referring to the Cicindellidae of Hong Kong, and is quoted by Westwood (1853) " .... while one at least would appear to move about at night. The species last alluded to is a remarkably elegant insect, closely allied to C. gyllenhalii, the male being distinguished by a large metallic plate on each elytron, and is very rare, as during a residence of six years in China I have met with but a single pair; the female flew into my room at night, in the spring of 1842, and the male was taken in the early part of the present year, at dusk. Its nocturnal habits will no doubt account for its coming so seldom under notice.". Also listed as occurring in Hong Kong by Chaudoir (1865), Schilder (1911), Horn (1930), Hill (1982) [though as a caption to a photograph of Heptodonta posticalis White 1844], Wiesner (1992), Chen et al. (2002), Puchkov & Matalin (2003) and Shook & Wiesner (2006). Material: Ƌ ♀ Hong Kong, Lantau, Pui O, 20.iv.06; Sight record Ƌ and ♀ W.T.L., 27.iv.15; Sight record W.T.L., 28.iv.08; Sight record W.T.L., 28.iv.15; 1 ex.Ƌ W.T.L., 30.iv.14; Sight record W.T.L., 30.iv.15; Sight record Ƌ & ♀ W.T.L., 4.v.15, the male apparently feeding on fresh Gecko faeces (common around the light trap), which it constantly turned in between the mandibles, holding on with maxillary and probably also the labial palps; Sight record W.T.L., 6.v.08; Sight record W.T.L., 7.v.15; Sight record W.T.L., 7.v.08; ♀ + 1 ex. W.T.L., 7.v.07 (1 ex., GSPC); Sight record W.T.L., 8.v.08; Sight record W.T.L., 9.v.08; Sight record W.T.L., 10.v.08; Ƌ & ♀ Sight record W.T.L., 12.v.15; Ƌ W.T.L., 12.v.11; Sight record (abundant on water line in marsh) Hong Kong, Lantau, Pui O, 14.v.05; 2 Ƌ 2 ♀ Hong Kong, Lantau, Shap Long, 14.v.07 (Ƌ & ♀ GSPC Ƌ & ♀ JWPC); Ƌ W.T.L., 14.v.12; Ƌ W.T.L., 16.v.07 (GSPC); sight record Hong Kong, Lantau, Shui Hau, 16.v.05, sandy and marshy sea shore; ♀ W.T.L., 17.v.07 (JWPC); Sight record W.T.L., 18.v.15; Sight record W.T.L., 19.v.15; ♀ W.T.L., 20.v ..12; Sight record W.T.L., 21.v.15; Sight record W.T.L., 22.v.08; sight record W.T.L., 23.v.08; Sight record Ƌ & ♀ Hong Kong, Lantau, Luk Tei Tong, 23.v.07; Sight record Hong Kong, Lantau, Luk Tei Tong, 23.v.07 (abundant in mangroves and Reed beds); Ƌ & ♀ Hong Kong, Lantau, Luk Tei Tong, 24.v.07; Sight record W.T.L., 24.v.07; Sight record Hong Kong, Lantau, Pui O, 25.v.07 (common); Ƌ W.T.L., 25.v ..12.; Sight record W.T.L., 28.v.08; Sight record W.T.L., 29.v.08; ♀ May 2011 W.T.L.; Sight record Hong Kong, Lantau, Tai O, 2.vi.07; Sight record Hong Kong, Lantau, Tung Chung, 2.vi.07; Sight record Hong Kong, Lantau, Shui Hau 6.vi.06; Sight record Hong Kong, Lantau, Shui Hau, 14.vi.15, 6 seen on muddy beach, close to the mangroves; Ƌ W.T.L., June 2011; sight record W.T.L., 8.vii.08; ♀ W.T.L., 18.vii.07; ♀ W.T.L., 22.vi ..12.;Sight record ♀ W.T.L., 7.vii.12; Sight record ♀ W.T.L., 10.vii.14; Sight record ♀ W.T.L., 11.vii.15; Sight record W.T.L., 15.vii.14; Sight record ♀ W.T.L., 24.vii.15; Sight record Ƌ W.T.L., 24.vii.15; ♀ W.T.L., 27.vii.15; Sight record W.T.L., 28.vii.15; Sight record W.T.L., 31.vii.08; Sight record W.T.L., 1.viii.08; Sight record W.T.L., 5.viii.08; Sight record Ƌ W.T.L., 9.viii.14; Sight record W.T.L., Ƌ & ♀ 13.viii.15; Sight record W.T.L., 20.viii.13; Sight record W.T.L., 28.viii.14; Sight record W.T.L., 29.viii.14; Sight record W.T.L., 24.viii.08; Sight record W.T.L., 27.viii.08; Sight record W.T.L., 31.viii.08; Sight record W.T.L., 1.ix.08; sight record Ƌ W.T.L., 3.ix.13; Sight record ♀ W.T.L., 5.xi.14; sight record ♀ W.T.L., 7.ix.13; sight record W.T.L., 11.ix.13. Biology: Imago found April to October. It can be abundant in marshy areas close to mangroves (with which it is associated) even muddy shorelines at high tide can have huge densities of this species. See notes under C. inspeculare. They are often attracted to lights, even a distance from mangroves. Observed mating 25.v. 14 W.T.L., a female was observed feeding on Nematoceran diptera (W.T.L., 15 July 2014); the cuticle was not eaten but was observed to be compressed by the palps, being discarded after about 20 min. On two other instances females were observed carrying and apparently feeding on dead males of the species. The author also observed one individual apparently feeding on Gecko faeces, which brings up the question of whether this species is predominantly a scavenger, as in all the hours it has been observed at light traps, it has never been observed to attack anything. It readily flies, though it often hides behind objects to escape danger.
description: Published as part of Aston, Paul, 2016, Catalogue and Bibliography of the Hong Kong Carabidae Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera: Adephaga), with notes on the historic boundaries of Hong Kong as related to zoological collections, pp. 201-257 in Zootaxa 4121 (3) on page 208, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4121.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/265007