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Raising Leptoglossus phyllopus (Hemiptera: Coreidae) from Egg to Adult

Leptoglossus phyllopus (Linnaeus 1767)

lepto, lept (Greek): thin, narrow
glosso (Greek): tongue
phyllo, phyll (Greek): leaf
-pus, (Greek): foot




Leptoglossus phyllopus are found throughout the east and south of the United States and into Mexico on a wide variety of plants, including trees, shrubs, flowers, fruits, and vegetable plants.

The trademark leaf shape on the hind tibiae begins to form in fourth-instar nymphs.

fourth-instar with adult, and adult:


Because raising Leptoglossus phyllopus is so similar to raising Acanthocephala terminalis, I will simply add a few photos to this very brief discussion regarding 1) Housing and Care, 2) Life Cycle, and 3) Mating.


Housing and Care

Housing and care for Leptoglossus phyllopus is very similar to that of Acanthocephala terminalis. For these and most of my insects, I use a large mesh butterfly cage measuring 36" x 24" x 24".

sample cage for Leptoglossus and other insects:


Leptoglossus will spend most of their time on plants, so it's important to provide a variety of native plants in small pots inside the cage.

On occasion, I caught the scent of alarm pheromones emitted by my Leptoglossus phyllopus when disturbed, but this was very infrequent. Gonzala-Segura et al. provide superb photographs of the metathoracic scent glands of the similar Leptoglossus zonatus (Gonzaga-Segura et al., 2013).


For food, Leptoglossus will appreciate native plants as well as vegetable plants. In addition to their plants, I provide organic romaine lettuce and apple slices, carrots, pecans/walnuts/almonds, rolled oats, cricket powder, butterfly sponges (nectar sponges = cellulose sponges soaked in half clear Gatorade / half water), and fresh water.

Leptoglossus phyllopus on lettuce:


Leptoglossus phyllopus adult and fourth-instar nymph on lettuce:


adult munching on apple (with Scudderia furcata):


adult on butterfly sponge:



Life Cycle

As with other Hemiptera, these guys are hemimetabolous, undergoing incomplete metamorphosis: egg > nymph > adult.


EGG

Eggs, brown and barrel-shaped, are laid in lines attached to vegetation.
These eggs were laid on Chromolaena odorata in my yard in 2020, and I handraised the nymphs to adult.



NYMPH

Nymphs go through five instars of development. First- through third-instar nymphs are orange, fourth-instar nymphs are orange or grey, and fifth-instar nymphs are mostly grey. The time from hatching to moulting to full adult for the Leptoglossus phyllopus that I raised was around four weeks.

first-instar nymphs:


first-instar nymph (left) with two Largus succinctus first-instar nymphs:


first-instar nymph with exuviae of older siblings who moulted to second instar:



second-instar nymphs: (third photo includes one first-instar nymph on the right)



third-instar nymphs:



fourth-instar nymphs:



fifth-instar nymphs:



Exuvia (from fifth-instar nymph to adult):



ADULT

The full adult is well-dressed in a brown tuxedo with a white cummerband:


From my summer adults of 2022, the longest living one remained alive and kicking until 02.28.2023.


Mating

male approaching female to mate:


According to Aldrich et al. (1976), "male adults possess an abdominal gland opening through a midventral ostiole in the 7–8th abdominal intersegmental membrane" and "The ventral abdominal gland secretion may act as a long-range attractant of females." Wang and Millar (2000) present a detailed description of mating of Leptoglossus clypealis and the use of pheromones to attract females. Mating is prolonged and females often walk around and feed, dragging the males behind.

Leptoglossus phyllopus mating (with Largus succinctus friends):




Leptoglossus phyllopus are quite easy to raise and perfectly suitable for folks new to rearing and for classroom projects. With plenty of diurnal activity, these insects are easy to observe.



References

Aldrich, J. R., Blum, M. S., Duffey, S. S., & Fales, H. M. (1976). Male specific natural products in the bug, Leptoglossus phyllopus: Chemistry and possible function. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022191076900949

Gonzaga-Segura, J., Valdez-Carrasco, J., & Castrejón-Gómez, V. R. (2013, December 11). The Metathoracic Scent Gland of the Leaf-Footed Bug, Leptoglossus zonatus. Journal of Insect Science. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4015393/

Wang, Q., & Millar, J. G. (2000, July 1). Mating Behavior and Evidence for Male-Produced Sex Pheromones in Leptoglossus clypealis (Heteroptera: Coreidae). https://academic.oup.com/aesa/article/93/4/972/22694



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