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Pentatomidae
From the Pentatomidea family, this small shield bug no more than half a centimetre can possibly be considered a nymph. Its is robust in form reminding me of a tortise shell with four pronounced yellowish bumps on the abdomin section. This shield bug was photographed on a large cucumber growing in our garden and also shows a short interaction with a cotton or melon aphid (Aphis gossypii). Shield bugs feed by using sharp piercing mouth parts to enter plant stems and in this case bore into the cucumber fruit. They inject caustic material that damages plant cells and facilitates sap for feeding. Here the scar on the fruit is visible along with other abandoned sites. In this way, perhaps the aphid was attempting to feed from a site that itself could not gain access to.
Common through out gardens and wild areas with vegitative cover
No exact species or tribe yet, still looking
Spotted on Mar 11, 2019
Submitted on Mar 11, 2019
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