Coleotichus blackburniae

Coleotichus blackburniae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Scutelleridae
Genus: Coleotichus
Species: C. blackburniae
Binomial name
Coleotichus blackburniae
White, 1881[1]

Coleotichus blackburniae is a species of insect in the family Scutelleridae, the jewel bugs. It is commonly known as the Koa bug or the Koa shield bug.[1] It has been dubbed the stinkless stink bug for its lack of the malodorous defensive chemicals present in other heteropterans.[2] It is Hawaii's largest endemic true bug.

Description

The exoskeletons of Koa bugs contain many different iridescent colours.[3]

The eggs hatch approximately 9 days after being laid. They are only a few millimetres wide, and are laid in a tight cluster. They are green in colour at first, and then turn red as they develop.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This insect occurs on all the main islands of Hawaii.[4][5] They are found on `a`ali`i (Dodonaea viscosa) bushes[6] and koa (Acacia koa) trees.[4][6]

A cluster of instars

Also found on Formosa Koa

Behaviour and diet

Common to all true bugs, this species has no mouth parts with which to bite, cut, or chew its food. Instead it has a tube-like structure that it uses to suck the contents from the seeds of several types of koa and `a`ali`i plants.[3]

Numbers of this insect were greatly reduced on most of the Hawaiian islands. A parasitoid fly which preys on hemipterans, Trichopoda pennipes was introduced with the intention of controlling a similar insect, but also attacked the koa bug. Today, it is common in only a few areas of the Big Island.[4]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.