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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Pentatomomorpha » Pyrrhocoroidea » Red Bugs (Pyrrhocoridae) » Cotton Stainers (Dysdercus)

Genus Dysdercus - Cotton Stainers

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

cotton stainer nymph - Dysdercus suturellus

Dysdercus concinnus Stål - Dysdercus concinnus

A beautiful looking Bug - Dysdercus suturellus

St. Andrew's Cotton Stainer - Dysdercus andreae

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 Pyrrhocoroidea

Family Pyrrhocoridae (Red Bugs)

Genus Dysdercus (Cotton Stainers)

Other Common Names

Red Bugs

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

revised by van Doesburg (1968)(1)

Explanation of Names

Dysdercus Guérin-Méneville 1831

These bugs' feeding on cotton produce a stain on the lint

Numbers

9 spp. in our area(2), ~70 total

Size

8-18 mm

Identification

Similar to Lygaeidae but lack ocelli; typically red and black

key to FL spp.

Range

pantropical group ranging into so. US

Food

hosts: mostly Malvaceae, including cotton

Remarks

The white bands on the body including the abdominal incisures are due to uric acid present in the epidermal cells.

Print References

van Doesburg Jr., P.H. 1968. A revision of the New World species of Dysdercus Guerin Meneville (Heteroptera, Pyrrhocoridae). Zoologische Verhandelingen 97(1): 1–213. (1)

Works Cited

1.	A revision of the New World species of Dysdercus Guérin Méneville (Heteroptera, Pyrrhocoridae) van Doesburg P.H. 1968. Zoologische Verhandelingen 97: 1-215.

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.

Contributed by Stephen_WV on 6 November, 2004 - 7:12am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Hannah Nendick-Mason, Mike Quinn, Ron M., v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 8 October, 2023 - 9:00pm

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