A New Species of Sericine Chafer Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) from India

Neoserica Brenske, 1897 represents the most diverse groups within the sericini tribe. They are phytophagous scarab feasting on a diverse range of plants. Its small size and colour patterns make it challenging group to identify merely based on morphological characters. This paper describes a new species of sericine chaffer beetle, Neoserica akurdi Kalawate sp. nov. from the Pune District of Maharashtra. The new species is described based on its morphological and genitalia characters. It is morphologically similar to its congener: Neoserica (Neoserica) gravida Ahrens & Fabrizi, 2016 and Neoserica (Neoserica) putaoana Ahrens, Liu, Fabrizi, Bai and Yang, 2014. However, it differs in elytral patterns and parameres of male genitalia. The illustrations of the adult along with male genitalia has been depicted in the current study. A map showing the type localities of the new species and its congener has also been included.