Common meadow bug
Common meadow bug | ||||||||||||
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Common meadow bug ( Lygus pratensis ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Lygus pratensis | ||||||||||||
( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The common meadow bug ( Lygus pratensis ) is a bug from the family of soft bugs (Miridae).
features
The bugs are between 5.8 and 7.3 millimeters long and have an oval body that is slightly flattened. The males are light red-brown to dark red, while the females are green and brown in color. The female has a light green pronotum with a dark spot on each side. The pronotum of the male is also green in the basic color, but a brownish spot pattern predominates, which partially runs with the green. The scutellum label is heart-shaped in both sexes and clearly stands out with a very light green. The front part of the label, which complements the triangular shape, is dark brown. The folded wings are clearly visible on the back of the abdomen, as they are not covered by the hemielytras .
Occurrence
The animals are found all over Europe , Asia and North America . The common meadow bug colonizes warm, open and partially shaded habitats and can be found regularly on fields rich in weeds, fallow land and in ruderal meadows . Sometimes it also lives in shady, moist forest locations. They prefer to live in the herbaceous layer , more rarely on deciduous trees.
Way of life
Both the larvae and the adults (adults) suck the sap of various herbaceous plants, but also nectar from flowers. The adults can fly very well, even over long distances. They often undertake long spreading flights after winter. They are attracted by artificial light at night.
development
The females lay their eggs in May and June with the help of their laying apparatus, often in flower buds or other parts of plants. The initially round and light larvae are sociable. In the later larval stages they are completely green and very rounded in shape. It is easy to mistake them for aphids . They suck tirelessly on their host plants and can cause damage, whereby the leaves of the plants dry up or deformities develop on the plants. The larvae develop very quickly, the new generation is already fully grown in July. Another generation is trained in warm regions and favorable years. The adult animals overwinter in the litter, in moss cushions, grass groves or under loose bark.
Natural enemies
Parasitic wasps , especially the genus Peristenus , actively searching for young larvae of bugs and leave from these eggs. The parasitic wasp larvae eat their host from within.
Stages of development
The following pictures show several development stages of the common meadow bug as a nymph.
literature
- E. Wachmann, A. Melber & J. Deckert: The animal world of Germany. Bed bugs. Volume 2. Goecke & Evers, Keltern, 2004. 288 pp. ISBN 3-931374-57-2