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Cotton Harlequin Bug - Tectocoris diophthalmus
Family Scutelleridae
This page contains pictures and information about Cotton Harlequin Bugs that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Female, body Length 20mm
- The bugs are also known as Hibiscus Harlequin Bugs. Females are orange with small patches of metallic blue scatter over their body. Males are red with metallic blue patches. Their patterns can be quite different between individuals. Males are smaller than the females in size. Their scutellum completely covers the whole abdomen and wings.
- Female
- Male
- Their patterns can be quite different between individuals.
- Above pictures show an adult male. The bugs suck the juice from hibiscus and cotton, plants of the family Malvaceae. They are found from summer to early winter.
- The bugs suck sap from hibiscus plants. They feed mostly on young shoots, piercing the stems and sucking the sugar-rich juices intended for shoot growth. As their common name implies, they also attack cotton. They are the minor pest of cotton, feeding on young shoots and bolls. Females lay eggs around stem and will guard them until the eggs hatch.
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- Photo: Jeff O'Donnell, Sydney Photo: Jeff O'Donnell, Sydney
- The above pictures show the cluster of nymphs. The pictures ware taken by Jeff O'Donnell in Sydney during early winter.
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- Photo: Steve Happ
- Female bug lays eggs and sticks them around stem during early summer. Maternal care is common in stink bug families. Cotton Harlequin Bug is well know for maternal care. Steve Happ send us the above photo showing the female Cotton Harlequin Bug guarding her eggs.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 508, plate 3P.
- 2. Insects of Australia, Hangay, George, & German, Pavel, Reed New Holland, Sydney, 2000, p 65.
- 3. Tectocoris diophthalmus - Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Commonwealth of Australia 2005.
- 4. Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland - Queensland Museum Publications 2000. p89.
![new-7048[1].jpg (181385 bytes)](images/new-70481.jpg)
