Description of the first instar larvae of four species of Cetoniinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in northeastern China

Larval identification is crucial for the utilization and management of insect resources, yet morphological studies remain too limited to fulfill this requirement. Flower chafers represent one of the best-studied groups of holometabolous insects in terms of larval morphology, while their adults exhibit highly diverse habits. However, previous research has focused mainly on the larger third instar larvae, offering limited utility for early identification. In this study, we describe and compare the first instar larvae of Cetonia magnifica Ballion, 1871, Gametis jucunda (Faldermann, 1835), Protaetia brevitarsis (Lewis, 1879) and Lasiotrichius succinctus (Pallas, 1781) using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Distinct morphological characters, including eyespots, nesium, process of haptomerum, scissorial teeth, and palidia on the raster, were highlighted, providing new data to improve early identification within Cetoniinae.

Keywords:
White grubs; Pollinators; Early-stage identification; SEM