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Project Noah Nature School
Phymata sp.
Another one for my what-the-heck-is-this list. Around 2 cm (4/5 of an inch). Very strange bug, with wings like Pentatomoidea, but with a very wide, trapezoidal body. It has a very complex structure in the back, with no visible function. Although it looks like a nymph, it flew when I came close. Very strong front legs ending in a kind of a claw.
Family Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs), Subfamily Phymatinae (Ambush Bugs)
Spotted on Jun 12, 2012
Submitted on Jun 13, 2012
5 Comments
Fantastico!!!
I occasionally find ambush bugs in the late summer, hiding amongst the flowers. They often blend in very well!
Thank you very much, Leuba. Lucky me that was in the right place in the right time... I didn't know that this bug could be found here in Brazil, so it is a new lesson for me too.
Sergio- thanks for the brilliant photo and Juan for the ID. This is a great lesson in observation for me !! I may be wrong but if I look closely, I can see features of an assassin bug - the usually longish neck is covered by yellow plates, the stabber is missing ( can't see it), the spinous processes on the thorax are there, the flattened dorsal side of the body (dark brown) with the upward (reflexed) sweep of the bordering skirt -the two green triangles with a central brown patch (connexivum). Somewhere along the line, this subfamily decided to look a little different from the "assassins" I think, and preferred to "ambush". What a lesson I've learnt today..... brilliant. keep them coming...
Thanks for the ID, Juan.