Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Cimicomorpha » Cimicoidea » Minute Pirate Bugs (Anthocoridae) » Xylocorini » Xylocoris » subgenus Xylocoris (Xylocoris subgenus Xylocoris) » Xylocoris cursitans
Photo#33640
tiny brown hemipteran - Xylocoris cursitans
Copyright © 2005 Jim McClarin

tiny brown hemipteran - Xylocoris cursitans
Nashua, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA
September 25, 2005
Size: about 1.7 mm
Found in a rearing container that contains several small gro*und beetle species, and adult Eleo*des and a suspected Eleo*des larva -- that just keeps growing!!

Although this insect appears flightless, I think it is an adult, otherwise it would not have hemelytra at all.

For some reason I think this could be a bedbug for beetles. I noticed that the big larva had several wounds between its tergites (if that's what you call them in a larva), as if something had punctured its skin there. Am I way off base? Please set me straight!!

Images of this individual: tag all
tiny brown hemipteran - Xylocoris cursitans tiny brown hemipteran - Xylocoris cursitans
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Jim McClarin on 3 October, 2005 - 7:32pm
Last updated 16 April, 2007 - 6:22pm

Moved
Moved from Xylocoris.
… Jim McClarin, 16 April, 2007 - 6:22pm login or register to post comments

Xylocoris cursitans
Just worked up some of Tom's specimens, and your photos are of more of this species.
… Donald S. Chandler, 16 April, 2007 - 3:09pm login or register to post comments

 
Thank you, Don,
for this one and the other of same species.
… Jim McClarin, 16 April, 2007 - 6:24pm login or register to post comments

Puzzling.
The proper term for Hemipterans is "hemelytra," since the basal half of the front wing is leathery while the terminal half is membraneous (usually). I agree it is probably a micropterous adult. My guess as to family would be Lygaeidae (or one of the new derivative families), or possibly Anthocoridae, the "minute pirate bugs." Interesting!
… Eric R. Eaton, 4 October, 2005 - 12:46pm login or register to post comments

 
OK, I'm learning new words...
Micropterous = having tiny wings
Lygaeidae = Seed Bugs
Hemelytra = bug's front wing

However, I suspect a word I learned a long time ago, hemipteran, is still a valid term. According to Webster, a hemipteran is any of a large order (Hemiptera) of insects (as the true bugs) that have mouthparts adapted to piercing and sucking... and so on. In other words, it refers to the entire insect, not just the wings. If I am wrong or out-of-date on this, please let me know.

As for the insect at hand, thank you for the leads. I've done some googling, but haven't seen anything yet that's very similar. Do you happen to know a good hemipterist we could ask?
… Jim McClarin, 4 October, 2005 - 6:26pm login or register to post comments

 
Anthocoridae?
I think I have found a possible genus! Xylocoris is a tiny "minute pirate bug" in the Anthocoridae that is frequently found under the bark of rotten logs, so the habitat seems right. It also has a micropterous form. I'm creating a guide page for it, and will try and recruit a specialist to confirm or deny. Excellent image, and it should be identifiable.
… Eric R. Eaton, 3 February, 2006 - 2:59pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for working on my small bugs, Eric.
I'll be interested in learning what these eat.
… Jim McClarin, 3 February, 2006 - 3:24pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact