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Species Euthochtha galeator - Helmeted Squash Bug

Bug Nymph - Euthochtha galeator Bug on Live Oak tree - Euthochtha galeator Euthochtha galeator - Helmeted Squash Bug - Euthochtha galeator Coreidae? - Euthochtha galeator  Helmeted Squash Bug ? - Euthochtha galeator Spikes Black Insect. - Euthochtha galeator Unknown Bug - Euthochtha galeator Euthochtha galeator
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Infraorder Pentatomomorpha
Superfamily Coreoidea (Leatherbugs)
Family Coreidae (Leaf-footed Bugs)
Subfamily Coreinae
Tribe Acanthocerini
Genus Euthochtha
Species galeator (Helmeted Squash Bug)
Explanation of Names
Euthochtha galeator (Fabricius 1803)
galeator 'wearing a helmet'
Size
14.5-17 mm(1)
Identification
All five nymphal instars are characterized by spines, mottling, and a dilated 3rd antennal segment;
the only e. US coreid whose nymphs have the 3rd antennal segment (only) dilated.

Males have a white- or cream-colored spur or flap on the posterodorsal corner of the side of the thorax (metepimeron) next to the abdomen. No other insect in e. US has such a projection. (Mead 2003)
Range
e. US (TX-FL-ME-MN) - Map (1)(2)(3), common
Habitat
Froeschner (1942) reported as common in Missouri in low, moist, weedy sections of woods, but also in weedy fields.
Food
Feeds on a variety of wild and cultivated plants (Mead 2003)
Remarks
may become a pest in dooryard situations; can injure roses, citrus, etc. fruits/ornamentals (Mead 2003)
See Also
Piezogaster spp. - note the hairy antennae, the shorter, stouter scape, and (in males) the bent hind tibiae (comments)
- Range: e. US to CO-AZ / Mex.
Print References
Froeschner R.C. (1942) Contributions to a synopsis of the Hemiptera of Missouri, Pt. II. American Midland Naturalist 27: 591-609.
Yonke T.R., Medler J.T. (1969) Description of immature stages of Coreidae. 1. Euthochtha galeator. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 62: 469-473.
Internet References
Featured Creatures - Mead 2003
Works Cited
1.How to Know the True Bugs
Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. 1978. Wm. C. Brown Company.
2.Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs of Canada and the Continental United States
Thomas J. Henry, Richard C. Froeschner. 1988. Brill Academic Publishers.
3.Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)