Phymata crassipes
| Little devil | ||||||||||||
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Little devil ( Phymata crassipes ), male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Phymata crassipes | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1775) |
The devil ( Phymata crassipes ), also called devil or praying mantis bug , is a type of bug from the family of predatory bugs (Reduviidae).
features
The bugs are 7.1 to 8.8 millimeters long. The body of the females is light yellow-brown, that of the males is darker red-brown. The membranes of the hemielytres are brownish. They can be recognized by their characteristic forelegs, which have been modified into strong, rough legs. These are missing the tarsi . The top of your body is concave. Between the compound eyes and the point eyes ( Ocelli ) there is a groove that continues over the prothorax and into which the antennae can be placed in a resting position and in a state of fright. Your abdomen is strongly widened on the sides and has unsawed or bulging side edges that are not pointed at the individual segments. There are no bumps on the thighs ( femora ) of the middle and rear legs. The keels of the pronotum are thornless. The latter three features distinguish them from the Phymata monstrosa occurring in south-western Europe , the first three segments of which are pointed at the edge on the abdomen and the thorns on the keels on the pronotum and bumps on the thighs of the middle and rear legs. The nymphs look like the adult bugs; both have a certain resemblance to dried up plant parts.
Occurrence and habitat
The species is widespread in the Palearctic and occurs from the Mediterranean, North Africa and Central Europe east to Korea, northern China and Siberia. It is absent in north-west Europe, with the distribution limit running across northern Germany. It has not been proven in Westphalia, the lowlands of Lower Saxony and in Brandenburg. The species is rare in Germany, but more common in the southwest. In Austria it occurs everywhere and can also be not uncommon in places that are convenient for it. You can find them in favorable locations in the low mountain ranges and in the Alps up to 1500 meters above sea level.
Open, sunny habitats such as limestone grasslands, rock heaths, southern slopes or forest edges are populated, whereby the species is also tolerant of certain moisture.
Way of life
Both the adults and the nymphs feed as ambulance hunters and wait in the herb layer, for example for flowers, for their prey, which consists of various species of insects and spiders. The prey can also be significantly larger than itself. B. successfully hunted bees. If disturbed, the animals can fall to the ground and remain there for a long time in a state of fright. The adult bedbugs can use a sound device at the base of the abdomen to produce low-frequency noises that cannot be heard by humans. Depending on the conditions, the development takes very different lengths of time or it has not yet been fully clarified whether a two-year development with a first wintering as a nymph and a second as an imago takes place, since both the young and the adults are observed overwintering can. Hibernating nymphs are adult from June, hibernating adults, however, mate in spring and their nymphs hatch in June. Young nymphs appearing in the fall could also come from an incomplete second generation. Most adults in Central Europe appear in June and July. Hibernation takes place in loose, dry litter, under plant cushions such as thyme ( thymus ) or in the rosettes, for example of mullein ( Verbascum ) or adder heads ( Echium ).
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 1: Cimicomorpha: Dipsocoromorpha, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Cimicomorpha (part 1) (= The animal world of Germany and the adjacent sea parts according to their characteristics and according to their way of life . 77th part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2006, ISBN 3-931374-49-1 , p. 236 ff .
- ↑ Ekkehard Wachmann : Observe bugs - get to know . Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen 1989, ISBN 3-7888-0554-4 , p. 200 .
- ↑ Frieder Sauer: Sauer's nature guide recognized bugs and cicadas from color photos . Fauna, Keltern 1996, ISBN 3-923010-12-5 , p. 126 .
- ↑ devil, praying mantises Bug - Phymata crassipes (Fabricius, 1775). www.natur-in-nrw.de, accessed on December 30, 2015 .
literature
- Frieder Sauer: Sauer's nature guide recognized bugs and cicadas from color photos . Fauna, Keltern 1996, ISBN 3-923010-12-5 .
- Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 1: Cimicomorpha: Dipsocoromorpha, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Cimicomorpha (part 1) (= The animal world of Germany and the adjacent sea parts according to their characteristics and according to their way of life . 77th part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2006, ISBN 3-931374-49-1 .
- Ekkehard Wachmann : watch bugs - get to know . Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen 1989, ISBN 3-7888-0554-4 .
Web links
- Phymata crassipes in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved December 30, 2015