Splendor bug
| Splendor bug | ||||||||||||
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Splendor bug ( Miris striatus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Miris striatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The splendor bug ( Miris striatus ) is also known as the striped soft bug because of its striking black and yellow striped wing covers . The palearctic species belongs to the family of soft bugs or blind bugs (Miridae), within which it is one of the largest species.
description
The elongated insects reach body lengths between 9.1 and 11.7 millimeters. The basic color of the animals is black. The wing covers ( Hemielytren ) have yellow wing veins in the leathery part (Corium) and at the end of the leathery part (Cuneus) they have yellow to reddish, black-edged tips just before the membrane. The color of the markings can vary in different animals and be of different dimensions. The long legs are black or red-brown; then the thighs ( femora ) are dark at the top. The rails ( tibia ) are studded with black thorns. The antennae are almost body length, clearly articulated and black. Sometimes the first antennae can be red-brown. The pronotum is also black with yellow markings in different dimensions. The external appearance of the bug resembles the much smaller oak jewelery bug ( Rhabdomiris striatellus ). This is also clearly more oval in outline, mostly lighter (yellow) in color and the Cuneus has a black tip.
distribution and habitat
The splendor bug is widespread throughout Europe with the exception of Scandinavia and the southern Mediterranean region . Their distribution area extends to the east over the Ukraine to Asia Minor . It inhabits mainly deciduous trees on sunlit forest edges, loose shrubbery, hedges and free-standing trees. The animals are mainly found on hawthorn ( Crataegus ), blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ), hazel ( Corylus ) or birch ( Betula ). You avoid shady habitats.
Way of life
The bug is zoophytophagous : it feeds primarily on animal food such as insect larvae or aphids and scale insects in a predatory manner; in addition, it pricks young shoots and leaves to feed on their sap. Both sexes are long-winged (macropter). The hemimetabolic animals overwinter in the egg stage and form only one generation per year. The short-lived adults can be observed from May to July. The eggs are sunk into young plant shoots.
literature
- E. Wachmann , A. Melber, J. Deckert: Bugs Volume 2: Cimicomorpha: Microphysidae (lichen bugs), Miridae (soft bugs) . Revised version of the bugs in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland, Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2004, ISBN 3-931374-57-2
Web links
- Miris striatus at Fauna Europaea