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Oxycarenus lavaterae
This is a species of ground bugs belonging to the family Lygaeidae. They reproduce in Malvaceae palnts but then move onto fruit trees. I was really surprised to see the amount of them in this tree.
Fruit trees: oranges, apricots, apple trees. Present in the South of Europe. These were seen in Calpe, Alicante, Spain.
Spotted on Nov 23, 2013
Submitted on Dec 30, 2013
12 Comments
Colorful collection!
Thanks Cindy &staccyh!
Impressive spotting!
They're really quite beautiful up close. Nice find!
Thanks, Mark! :-)
An amazing sight.
Thanks for the comments and likes!
@Lauren: actually, I was shocked! I had never seen such a plague before and it was just by chance as I was strolling in a street and noticed it in a tree from the line of trees that were on the sides of that street. I hope the trees survive this!
Really amazing Marta! I would have been shocked to see this!
Oh, what a bunch! Creepy and fantastic in the same time!
Wow!
Do you mean these insects? like raising them in a fruit tree?
... In Spain they are considered a plague. Thanks for the nice comment :-)
Very nice pictures. My husband said you can keep them in your fruit orchard.