Constant and Grootaert / Hendrickx, Vietnam (ongoing)

A step further in the Entomodiversity of Vietnam (continuation)

Abstract:

The project aims to go on developing knowledge and study of Vietnamese entomofauna via two main axes:

• Collecting, identifying and inventory of 7 target groups (i.e. Homoptera Cicadidae, Fulgoridae, Eurybrachidae, Heteroptera Pentatomidae, Phasmoptera, Lepidoptera Saturniidae and Coleoptera Rutelinae, Sericinae and Lucanidae) in three national parks and nature reserves in Southern Central Vietnam, a very poorly known region. The training of the Vietnamese members of the staff, with the newcomer Mrs. Hanh who joined the IEBR staff in 2013, to some field collecting techniques and to some identification routines, started in 2010, and will be continued. All participants will be trained to general entomological collecting and to specific collecting of the groups studied by the other members of the staff in order to reach the best team-efficiency during fieldwork.
• Improvement of the entomological collections, of the collections management and of the study of the material preserved in IEBR. Environmental conditions have been improved in 2011 by the purchase and installation of a great capacity freezer to allow preservation of unmounted material and disinfection of parasitized material.

The objective remains to develop in IEBR a modern reference collection of national, regional and international importance, using the best international standards, and to provide material allowing state-of-the-art mounting and study of the specimens.

IEBR has also started to send material abroad to specialists for ID (also via RBINS), what will greatly improve the value and interest of IEBR entomological collections. Several new species have already been described on material from the previous projects, with type material deposited in IEBR.

Left to right: Collecting Panestia cockroaches, Caterpillar & crossing a stream at Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park.