Africa Wild

Stink Bug Pseudatelus sp., Atelocera sp., possibly P./A. caffra
Superfamily: Pentatomoidea. Family: Pentatomidae. Subfamily: Pentatominae

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Taxonomic Note
When Linnavuori (1982) described the genus Pseudatelus, he effectively transferred all but three species of Atelocera into.

Description
Body length: 15-22 mm. Long scutellum that reaches nearly to the apex of the body. The apex of the scutellum is rounded. Banded antennae, 4-jointed. Legs with long erect pale hairs.

Links: Swedish Museum of Natural History; Hétéroptères phytophages et prédateurs d'Afrique de l'Ouest

Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Reduviidae is a large cosmopolitan family of the order of "true bugs" or Hemiptera. Assassin Bugs are so called because they are predators, their prey consisting mainly of insects and other arthropods. The elongate head and short curved proboscis are good field characters to distinguish them from other bugs. Medium to large, robustly built bugs that prey on other arthropods and have a powerful recurved beak (rostrum), the tip of which is rubbed against a rigged groove under the body to produce sound. They are ambush predators that move slowly towards their prey before rushing out and grabbing with the fore legs, injecting a secretion from the beak that has a quick paralytic action. The prey is sucked dry. They are ambush predators that move slowly towards prey before rushing out and grabbing with the fore legs, injecting a secretion from the rostrum that has a very quick paralytic action.
About 475 species are known from the region.

Cotton-stainer Assassin Phonoctonus sp.
Superfamily: Reduvioidea. Family: Reduviidae. Subfamily: Harpactorinae

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Description
The genus Phonoctonus contains 3 species in South Africa: P. nigrofasciatus, P. principalis, P. fasciatus.
Phonoctonus spp. have short, curved mouthparts, 'necks' and rather large eyes. There are several species of them and each seems to mimic one species of cotton stainer in the shape and colour pattern of its wings.

Distribution
Africa.

Millipede Assassin Bug
Superfamily: Reduvioidea. Family: Reduviidae. Subfamily: Ectrichodiinae

© BluTuna
Kruger National Park

© Moggiedog
Millipede Assassin Bug nymphs (Ectrichodia crux)

Millipede assassin bugs in the subfamily Ectrichodiinae are a diverse group of specialized millipede predators, representing the fifth largest subfamily of Reduviidae. The subfamily Ectrichodiinae is readily recognised by its characteristic two-pronged scutellum. They are often brightly colored metallic blue, red, or yellow. The females are often apterous (lacking wings).

Links: Checklist: The Assassinbugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) of South Africa

Ant wolf or Feather-legged Bug Holoptilus sp., possibly H. nebulosus
Family: Reduviidae Subfamily: Holoptilinae
Tribe: Holoptilini

KTP

Taxonomic Notes
Holoptilinae comprise ~80 species in 16 extant and fossil genera and 3 tribes (Holoptilini, Dasycnemini, and Aradellini).

Distribution
Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian Regions



Identification
Holoptilinae are sometimes referred to as feather-legged assassin bugs. They are diagnosed by the absence of the foretibial comb, presence of dense and long setae on the body and legs (Dasycnemini and Holoptilini), the trichome on the abdominal sternum (Holoptilini), and one closed cell (Holoptilini) or 2 longitudinal veins (Dasycnemini) on the forewing membrane. Feather-legged bugs in the tribe Aradellini share the general habitus of other Holoptilinae, but have short instead of long setation on legs and antenna.



Natural History
Holoptilini appear to be specialized on ants and attract their prey with a seemingly glandular structure on the abdomen called the trichome.

(Source: Weirauch_etal_2014_Reduviidae: An Illustrated Identification Key to Assassin Bug Subfamilies and Tribes (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... Reduviidae

Assassin Bug Rhynocoris tristis
Superfamily: Reduvioidea. Family: Reduviidae. Subfamily: Harpactorinae

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Kruger National Park

Ever heard of paternal leave for insects? R. tristis is unusual in the insect world in that males provide paternal care by guarding egg masses. Assassin bug males guard their eggs to make themselves attractive to other females because it shows they will care for the female's eggs. Females find guarding males more attractive than males without eggs. Egg-guarding males, therefore, get more matings.
BUT.... In this species, Rhynocoris tristis, the males have been shown to cannibalise some of the eggs as an alternative source of food while guarding.

Stink Bug Pseudatelus spinulosa
Superfamily: Pentatomoidea. Family: Pentatomidae. Subfamily: Pentatominae

Sabi Sands, Tydon safari Camp © GlosterBirder



Description
Antennae with four segments. Larvae and adults covered with whitish secretions.
Length 14-15 mm; head 0.9-1.0 times as long as broad. Anterolateral margins of pronotum nearly straight; upper surface with distinct pale mottling; paratergites with broad pale spot in middle; venter sulcate only basally.

Distribution
Southern and Eastern Africa.

Links:
https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/ex ... 053305.pdf
https://www.ndsu.edu/faculty/rider/Pent ... atelus.htm

Seed Bug Lethaeus africanus
Superfamily: Lygaeoidea. Family: Rhyparochromidae. Subfamily: Rhyparochrominae. Tribe: Lethaeini


© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Johannesburg

Rhyparochromidae, the largest Lygaeoid family of Order Hemiptera, is a cosmopolitan group of lygaeoid bugs, comprising two subfamilies Plinthisinae and Rhyparochrominae with 14 tribes, 372 genera and 1,850 species worldwide. The name Rhyparochromidae comes from the Greek
words rhyparos, meaning "dirt", and chromus, meaning "color". Rhyparochromids were first established as a suprageneric group, and were considered by many workers to be a subfamily within the Lygaeidae. Henry (1997) in reclassifying the Lygaeoidea established the Rhyparochromidae as a family.

The majority of rhyparochomids is phytophagous, ground-dwelling; seek seeds in litter below plants or in bird droppings. They have enlarged fore femora, armed below with stout spines for grasping seeds.
Stridulation is common in this family. The file-like stridulitra is found usually laterally on the first two or four visible abdominal sterna, and the plectrum on the fore or hind femur.

Seed bugs of the genus Lethaeus are of moderate size, (7-10.5 mm); head and pronotum have conspicuous punctuation.

Milkweed Bug Spilostethus macilentus
Superfamily: Lygaeoidea. Family: Lygaeidae. Subfamily: Lygaeinae

Some of the larger species of Lygaeinae are called “milkweed bugs” which reflects their worldwide common association with plants of the milkweed family Apocynaceae which is known to comprise many plant genera containing cardenolides. Lygaeinae are the most diverse lygaeid subfamily with 57 genera and 640 species and mainly characterized by a bright coloration in red, orange and yellow combined with a black pattern. While the bug family Lygaeidae are cryptic coloored and are generally ground dwelling seed feeders, specimens within the Lygaeinae are mostly found on the reproductive parts of plants where they are predominantly seed feeders of conspiciously placed plant seed pods.
Aposematically colored bugs of the Lygaeinae are not only adapted to feed on previously mentioned host plants, further several species have been shown to sequester or contain (dried museum specimens) cardenolides in their bodies.
Cardenolides generally have a strong deterrent effect as antipredatory defences.


© Bush Brat
Milkweed Bug on host plant Adenium multiflorum (Apocynaceae), Kruger National Park, Olifants camp

Distribution
South Africa, Namibia, Malawi.


Links:
http://lygaeoidea.speciesfile.org/Commo ... ID=1210900
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/ ... .2014.2346

Brown Shield Bug Basicryptus costalis
Superfamily: Pentatomoidea. Family: Pentatomidae. Subfamilly: Phyllocephalinae

Nelspruit © Richprins

The forewings of stink bugs are called hemelytra, with the basal half thickened while the apex is membranous. At rest, the wings are laid across the back of the insect, with the membranous wingtips overlapping. The hindwings are entirely membranous.