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Photo#373674
Alydid nymph? - Closterocoris amoenus

Alydid nymph? - Closterocoris amoenus
Webb Canyon, ~2000 ft. elevation, Los Angeles County, California, USA
April 26, 2009
When I took these few, bad photos, I had assumed this was some sort of funny-looking ant. It wasn't until much later when I got to look at the photos more closely that I realized what a cool little bug I missed out on. :-( I'm guessing that this might be a nymph of one of the Alydidae species. Can anyone confirm? (That neon green bit is super awesome!!)

Photographed while crawling on the side of a utility shed. Surrounding habitat is chaparral and mixed oak woodland.

Images of this individual: tag all
Alydid nymph? - Closterocoris amoenus Alydid nymph? - Closterocoris amoenus Alydid nymph? - Closterocoris amoenus

Moved
Moved from Cyrtopeltocoris.

Moved based on WonGun's comment here.

Moved
Moved from Cyphopelta modesta.

Swollen scutellum leads to this species...
Moved from True Bugs.

 
Very cool!
Thanks for figuring this one out, WonGun!

 
You're welcome!
Possibly, I could regret this ID. Cyrtopeltocoris in Hallodapini, Phylinae is another candidate, but they are much smaller, 3-4 mm.

 
Hmmm... Yes, we may end up needing to move these images.
I'm glad you said something about size, WonGun. Unfortunately, I did not take an exact measurement of the bug, but my distinct recollection is that it reminded me of many of the very small ants also crawling in the area. I think 3-4 mm may be a much more likely bet than the 8 mm reference range you have listed for C. modesta. From looking at my photos, I think there is a spot on the surface of the utility shed it was crawling on that I can go back outside and measure. I'll do that later today and that should give me a better idea of what kind of size range we can assign to this bug.

 
Looks like it may be Cyrtopeltocoris, afterall...
I went outside and measured a feature of the utility shed that is visible in my images for this bug. It seems the specimen is probably somewhere between 3-3.5 mm in length. So, what do you think, WonGun? Should we move these images based on that added data?

 
Great!
Actually, a very dintictive characteristis of Cyrtopeltocoris is the conical projection at the end of the scutellum. I couldn't determine whether the projections in your bug and another bug were those of the scutellum or part of the wing. But, I think now they belong to the scutellum.
Anyway, there are 10 species in North America and it seems tough to ID down to species.

It could be an adult female...
There is another Californian bug.


 
Looks very similar...
Thanks for referencing the other pic from CA, WonGun! I really hope I get to see one of these again and get some better photos.

must be a mirid, rather
i feel too lazy now to check -- try yourself, cara, or just leave it to Won Gun. very 60s indeed.

 
Darn it!
I really had my hopes set on finding my first Broad-headed Bug. :-( OK, I'll start looking around in Miridae. Thanks, =v=.

 
Myriad of Miridae options...
It seems like something in Tribe Herdoniini might be a possibility, but then there are candidates in Orthotylini and Hallodapini which also look plausible. Guess I'll wait for WonGun to weigh in...