moss bug

from Merrill Sweet: "very small -- perhaps Drymus"

Moved from Unidentified Heteroptera nymphs and eggs.

… v belov, 8 August, 2009 - 12:37am

Moved

Moved from True Bugs.

… v belov, 19 March, 2009 - 10:13am

Moved

Moved from True Bugs.

… Robin McLeod, 31 January, 2007 - 6:19am

Lygaeidae?

Appearance points to it - but it is a very young nymph, indeed (no wing sheats). Some Lygaeids hibernate as larvae, but probably only partly (adults found at the same time).

cheers, Boris

… Boris Büche, 8 January, 2007 - 10:06am

Thanks, Boris.

I'm hoping it's a species that is recognizable from its moss habitat.

… Jim McClarin, 8 January, 2007 - 5:05pm

Wild guess

Looks rather like large milkweed bug, but size probably negates that. (I don't know how small they go.)

Some are colored like yours, but they're among the larger ones, so probably older immatures.

… Ron Hemberger, 7 January, 2007 - 4:38pm

I wonder why they're red.

The antennae on this one are fatter and the head is larger compared to the body.

… Jim McClarin, 7 January, 2007 - 9:29pm

That is sort of odd, isn't it?

Color on large milkweed bugs seems pretty consistent, but I have posted an adult with a very pale color, in addition to red and black.

I'm not sure what the very small ones look like, but boxelder bug and red-shouldered bug might be other candidates. (I think they're Lygaeidae and Rhopalidae.)

… Ron Hemberger, 7 January, 2007 - 11:13pm

My guess is

that this is a ground-dwelling species the adult form of which is probably less than 3mm long. Why else would it be found inside a matted clump of moss? I think most bugs overwinter as eggs or adults, coinciding with the appearance and disappearance of their food source. A ground-dwelling bug might not be so season-restricted in its development cycle.

… Jim McClarin, 8 January, 2007 - 5:59am

Nymph

At that size, I'd say a nymph of a Heteropteran species, but what group I don't know.

… Brad Barnd, 6 January, 2007 - 11:08pm

2nd nymph

Check out this nymph from same moss sample, Brad.

… Jim McClarin, 7 January, 2007 - 6:56am