Chartoscirta cocksii
| Chartoscirta cocksii | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chartoscirta cocksii |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chartoscirta cocksii | ||||||||||||
| ( Curtis , 1834) |
Chartoscirta cocksii belongs to the family of bank bugs or spring bugs (Saldidae) within the order of bugs (Heteroptera). Its way of life is closely tied to wet habitats ( hygrophil ).
Distribution and habitats
The bugs of this species colonize all of Europe with the exception of the extreme north. They occur east to Russia and the Caucasus . The insects live close to the ground in moist to wet locations between peat mosses ( Sphagnum ) and sour grasses (Cyperaceae) in wet meadows , moors , reed beds , silting belts and inland salt areas.
Features and way of life
The animals reach body lengths between 3.0 and 4.1 millimeters. They are oval in outline with a distinct head. The compound eyes are large and kidney-shaped. The point eyes ( ocelli ) almost touch each other. The pronotum is sharply narrowed towards the front. The calluses on the pronotum form a transverse bulge, which is bordered in front and behind by a furrow with dots. Chartocirta cocksii has dense and protruding black hairs. The first and second antennae are yellowish. The first link is dark at the base, the second at the top. The two end links are significantly thicker than the second. The outer edge of the corium of the half-ceilings ( hemielytres ) is brightly colored. The forewings are usually somewhat shortened (submacropter) - in contrast to Chartocirta cincta , which always forms long-winged (macroptere) individuals.
The bugs predatory feed on smaller insects and other arthropods , and sometimes they also suckle dead animal material. Wintering takes place in the adult stage. Probably only one generation is formed each year. The egg-laying period is extended, so that larvae can be found from May to October .
literature
- E. Wachmann , A. Melber & J. Deckert: Bugs. Volume 1: Dipsocoromorpha, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Cimicomorpha (Part 1), revision of the bugs in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland, Goecke & Evers, Keltern, 2006. ISBN 3-931374-49-1
- E. Wagner: Heteroptera Hemiptera. - In: Brohmer, P., P. Ehrmann & G. Ulmer (eds.): Die Tierwelt Mitteleuropas. IV, 3 (Xa). - Leipzig 1959, 173 pp.
