Scientists from the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources of Vietnam have suggested to add four species of insect into Vietnam’s Red List of Threatened Species.

They include: Chalcosoma causasus, a giant dynastine scarab beetle; Kontum Cheirotonus gestroi Pouillaude, a species of beetle discovered in Kon Tum province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands; Neocerambyx vitalisi Pic, Indochina capricom beetle and Phyllium bioculatum Gray – a species of leaf insect.

This suggestion was raised after the institute finalized its research of insect diversity in the area along the Ho Chi Minh Highway (from Quang Ninh district in Quang Binh province to Phuoc Son district in Quang Nam province), in central Vietnam.

Dr. Ta Huy Thinh from the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources of Vietnam said that the diversity of insect species in this area is quite high, approximately to that of national parks and nature reserves that had been surveyed before.

Scientists recorded more than 3,000 species and 15 groups of insect in this area, adding 350 species to Vietnam’s natural treasure, including 16 which are in Vietnam’s Red List of Threatened Species.

PV