THREE Davao Region locals discovered two new beetle species, as published in Ecologica Montenegrina, a world-renowned, peer-reviewed open-access journal in ecology, biodiversity, taxonomy, zoology, botany & biogeography.
These beetles, namely Metapocyrtus nacolod or Nacolod Torquoise Beetle, and Metapocyrtus silago or the Silago Blue Beetle can only be found on Mt. Nacolod in Silago, Southern Leyte. They have been discovered by Ann Cabras of Davao Oriental State University (Dorsu), Tristan Senarillos, and Jayson Ibanez of Philippine Eagle Center (PEC).
As stated in the journal, there have been more than 260 known Metapocyrtus species in the Philippines.
“These formerly undescribed beetles were discovered during a biological feasibility assessment in 2022 to see whether Philippine eagles can be released back to Mt. Nacolod,” PEC said in a statement on their Facebook page.
According to the journal, the Metapocyrtus nacolod species prefer cool and shaded areas as these types of species are found within understory vegetation, or an ecosystem of plant life growing beneath the forest canopy, such as with the presence of tree ferns, ground ferns, tree wildings, and other weeds.
The Nacolod Torquoise Beetle can be distinguished for having “a broad subtriangular scaly patch of iridescent turquoise adpressed round scales with a golden-yellow sheen on each side of discs and three broad transverse bands of similar scales in the elytra”.
As for the Metapocyrtus silago or the Silago Blue Beetle, it can be distinguished from other species under its genus through the “reddish-brown integuments of its pronotum and elytra”.
Elytra are the tough forewings of beetles and earwigs, while pronotum is defined as the upper surface of the prothorax, the first segment of the thorax or the upper body of an insect.
Both species were named after the places they were found, in Nacolod, Silago, Southern Leyte, Philippines.
The journal suggested that with the discovery of these two new species, further studies must be done to “highlight Mt. Bacolod’s remarkable ecological and evolutionary role as a center of species endemism”. The authors also suggested that the area should be considered as a national protected area. ICE