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Of the 23 species of Anubis in the Oriental and Ethiopian region, the Philippines is represented with only one: Anubis manillarum CHEVROLAT 1838.

This species is typically 20mm in length and like other species of Tribe Callichromatini, day flying. Latest works by authors like Hudepohl and Hayashi have placed this speces as Anubis bifasciatus NEWMAN 1842, but Vives, Bentanachs and Juhel in their latest work, Revision du genre Anubis Thomson 1864, revised this to to reflect the original description which was preceded by Chevrolat.

It has been recorded in Luzon (this specimen was collected in Cavite) and Mindanao. Curiosly, none have been collected in the Visayan Islands. There hasn’t been any record either of the genus in Palawan and Borneo considering that several species occur in mainland Southeast Asia including Peninsular Malaysia. Maybe a species is/are awaiting discovery?

The long awaited Revision de genre Anubis Thomson, 1864 by Vives, Bentanachs and Juhel has been published by Magellanes last September. This is the latest work by the three author-entomologists of which, Vives and Bentanachs are doing a revision of Southeast Asian Callichromatini (Cerambycidae).

The work features all the known members (23 species and two subspecies) of the genus from both the Oriental and Ethiopian regions and includes 53 beautiful photos as well as some genitalia illustrations. The Philippines is represented by a lone species, Anubis manillarum CHEVROLAT 1838. This species have been listed by several authors like Hayashi and Hudepohl as A. bifasciatus NEWMAN 1842.

I was going over my collection and I was quite astonished to see a pair of Astathini species that is unlike what I have. I’m not sure if this is of genus Astathes since the pronotal structure, especially the central part is different. It is carinated, unlike the conical form or raised quadrate projection that I’m familiar with. The metallic blue fascia, while rather common in other species of the tribe is limited to the upper half of the elytra but never reaching the base.

What species can this be?

It seems that there are still many uncommon species that can still be found in my collection that I have just featured lately. Vives will be describing a new species from Mindanao, Eustathes mindanaonis in an upcoming paper (Eustathes sp. in this post) but when I checked my Astathini specimens, another surprising Eustathes comes up.

Its coloration is yellowish compared to E. mindanaonis. The first four segments of its antenna are not solid black but with brown coloration and its pronotum, especially the lateral parts is more acute compared to the softer, more rounded form of the latter. Can this be another, undescribed species that might be the third Eustathes to occur in the country?

I sent photos of five specimens of Parandra in my collection to Dan Heffern who subsequently sent it to Antonio Santos-Silva. The feedback? While actual specimens will really tell the actual species, based on the images, these are two of the new species in the Philippines. Dan indicated that the structure of the mandibles are important in separating the different species. These two were collected in the same locality in Mindanao.