CLOSED: CLOSED: Can you identify this bug for me?

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mwperry Brandon, MS(Zone 8a) Jun 21, 2008

Below are two frames of a bug I found in my butterfly garden (in Mississippi). I don't remember the foliage he was on. Can anyone ID the bug?

Thanks, Martha

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jun 21, 2008

Can you provide a closer view of this bug? I cannot tell whether the reddish color in its center is part of the bug itself, or an artifact, such as hitchhiking mites.

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mwperry Brandon, MS(Zone 8a) Jun 22, 2008

Suunto, Maybe this photo will be better for you. I don't do great close-ups.

Note its legs are bi-colored. Actually there are two red spots, the first being the tiniest, in a rectangular shape. The second is rounder. The second spot does look a little like it was appliqued on the back; however it has the same smooth texture as the body. The bug has no wing covers. It appears to have just a head and then abdomen. I am unable to tell what kind of mouthpart it has.

Martha

This message was edited Jun 22, 2008 3:14 AM

Thumbnail by mwperry
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jun 22, 2008

I suspect that this is a nymph of a true bug in the family Miridae - see http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/image/63685251 for an image of an adult. Bugs in this genus (Deraeocoris) appear to be predaceous.
I still think that the larger orangish spot is a mite, rather than part of the bug itself. The smaller triangular spot is the bug's scutellum, clearly seen on the adult specimen.

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mwperry Brandon, MS(Zone 8a) Jun 24, 2008

Suunto, thanks for the info. However, Pford sent me another i.d. which looks to be more like my bug. What do you think? http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/5309/

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jun 24, 2008

I agree with Pford; that is far more likely than my analysis. The abdomen of your specimen was somewhat distorted, which caused the larger orange spot look more like an artifact to me. Nevertheless, I'm embarrassed not to have considered Largidae.

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mwperry Brandon, MS(Zone 8a) Jun 25, 2008

Suunto, by no means should you be embarrassed. The abdomen on my bug did have a "dent" in it. Anyway, you got me started on the right road! Thanks a bunch.

Martha

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