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Background: Chronological information on the composition and structure of agrocenoses and detailed features of land cover referring to specific areas are uncommon in ethnobotanical studies, especially for periods before the XIX century. The aim of this study was to analyse the type of crop or the characteristics of soil cover from the XVI century to the present.

The species of the water scavenger beetle genus Laccobius Erichson, 1837 occuring in China are reviewed. Two new species are described: Laccobius (Glyptolaccobius) qinlingensis sp. nov. (Shaanxi) and L. (Cyclolaccobius) hainanensis sp. nov. (Hainan). Five species are recorded for the first time: Laccobius (Dimorpholaccobius) bipunctatus (Fabricius, 1775), L. (D.) striatulus (Fabricius, 1801) and L. (Compsolaccobius) pallidissimus Reitter, 1899 (all from Xinjiang), L. (Microlaccobius) tonkinensis Gentili, 1979 (Shaanxi), and L. (Compsolaccobius) decorus (Gyllenhal, 1827) (Qinghai). Additional faunistic data from China are provided for the following species: L. (Cyclolaccobius) hingstoni Orchymont, 1926, L. (C.) nitidus Gentili, 1984, L. (C.) politus Gentili, 1979, L. (C.) yunnanensis Gentili, 2003, L. (Dimorpholaccobius) simulans Orchymont, 1923, L. (s.str.) binotatus Orchymont, 1934, L. (s.str.) cinereus Motschulsky, 1860, L. (s.str.) colon (Stephens, 1829), L. (s.str.) inopinus Gentili, 1980, L. (s.str.) minutus (Linnaeus, 1758), L. (s.str.) nobilis Gentili, 1979, L. (Microlaccobius) elegans Gentili, 1979, L. (M.) florens Gentili, 1979, L. (M.) formosus Gentili, 1979, L. (M.) hammondi Gentili, 1984, L. (M.) himalayanus Gentili, 1988, and L. (M.) nepalensis Gentili, 1982. An updated checklist of Laccobius species occurring inChina is provided.

With 257 species known worldwide (Hansen, 1999; Short & Hebauer, 2006; Short & Fikáček, 2011; Gentili, 2012; Jia et al., 2013a; Jia et al, 2013b; Gentili, 2014), Laccobius Erichson is one of the most diverse genera of Hydrophilidae, most species having a relatively uniform convex, rounded appearance. To date only 26 species are known from sub-Saharan Africa (Gentili, 1981; Hebauer, 2006), 11 of which have been reported from southern Africa (Staals & DeMoor, 2007), five being endemic to the region. Southern African species to date all belong to the subgenera Microlaccobius Gentili and Hydroxenus Wollaston. Here we describe a new species of Hydroxenus from the Western Cape province of South Africa. The new species is morphologically closest to Laccobius caffer Boheman, a species widely distributed from western and central Africa to South Africa and Namibia, but the two can be distinguished readily on both external morphology and male genitalia. The new species was collected in marginal gravels of a drying river bed, a typical habitat for many Laccobius, and one which would repay further study in other parts of southern Africa, whose water beetle fauna remains incompletely known.

A new species of the water scavenger beetle, Laccobius (Cyclolaccobius) martini sp. nov., is described from Shiwandashan, southern Guangxi Automomous Region, China. Digital photographs of several useful taxonomic features are provided. Additionally, the identification key to Laccobius (Cyclolaccobius) of China and neighbouring countries is updated to include this new species.