The national second-level protected wild animal, the colorful-armed beetle, was discovered for the first time in the Shimentai area of the Nanling National Park candidate area.

China News Service, Guangzhou, September 29 (Cheng Jingwei, Lin Yin) According to news from the Guangdong Provincial Forestry Bureau on the 28th, rangers in the Shimentai area of ​​the Nanling National Park candidate area (now Guangdong Shimentai National Nature Reserve) recently discovered a large beetle with a unique shape during daily patrols. After multiple verifications, it was confirmed that this species is a national second-level protected wild animal - the Yangcai-armed beetle.

The colorful-armed beetle was found in the Shimentai area of ​​the Nanling National Park candidate area. Photo courtesy of Guangdong Provincial Forestry Bureau

This is another distribution record of the Yangcai-armed beetle in the Nanling National Park candidate area after the Nanling area and Tianjingshan area. It is also the first time this species has been discovered in the Shimentai area.

The colorful beetle is a large beetle endemic to China and belongs to the family Coleoptera. The beetle discovered this time is a male, and its most prominent feature is its front legs, which are far longer than its body length and are mainly used for courtship fights and mating clings. Its body surface shows brilliant green, copper and other luster under the light, and the edges of the elytra are dotted with orange and yellow lines, making its appearance highly recognizable.

This species has strict requirements on the habitat environment and relies on well-preserved evergreen broad-leaved forests with little human interference. The larvae need to rely on the humus of dead wood in the forest to complete their growth and development. Affected by habitat destruction, its wild population was once extremely rare.

The colorful-armed beetle is a large beetle endemic to China. Photo courtesy of Guangdong Provincial Forestry Bureau

The discovery of the golden-armed beetle not only enriches the biodiversity background data of the Shimentai area, but also epitomizes the effectiveness of the three-dimensional protection monitoring system. In recent years, in order to consolidate the biodiversity of Nanling National Park candidate areas, the Shimentai area has continuously developed an integrated "air, sky and ground" resource management and protection network, and established a monitoring force that combines grassroots management and protection personnel with professional scientific research teams. It comprehensively uses infrared camera grid monitoring, the country's first AI intelligent voiceprint monitoring, fixed plot transect surveys, drone patrols and other means to jointly carry out scientific surveys with scientific research institutes, and frequently finds new species records.

As of the end of 2025, there are 2,826 species of plants and 488 species of vertebrates in the Shimentai area. More than ten new species of animals and plants have been published in this area, including the British-German False Trichosanthes and the Beijiang Salamander.

The Nanling National Park candidate area, located in the hinterland of South China, is one of the core positions for biodiversity conservation in China. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Nanling National Park candidate areas continued to strengthen the construction of the monitoring system, adding 180 fixed monitoring plots, 134 monitoring transects, deploying more than 1,250 monitoring equipment of various types, building 5 national-level ecological positioning monitoring and research stations, and accumulating nearly 590,000 pieces of ecological factor data, more than 35,000 pieces of wildlife image data, and more than 1 million pieces of voiceprint monitoring data. (over)