 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, CA. 4/16/06 © Peter J. Bryant. |
Western leaf-footed bug Leptoglossus clypealus Hemiptera: Coreidae Back to Hemiptera index page |
 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, CA. 4/16/06 © Peter J. Bryant. |
Adult Western leaf-footed bugs (family Coreidae) measure between 10 and 20 mm in length. They are usually dark brown in color and bear a distinctive white, jagged stripe across the corium (the most caudal area of the front wing). Front wings of Western leaf –footed bugs are more veined than wings of the similar looking insects of the family Lygaeidae (seed bugs). The pronotum of this bug (the most-dorsal skeletal plate of the prothorax), is often longer than its narrow head; it has both large, compound, as well as simple pairs of eyes; and its hind legs are slightly expanded, almost leaf-like (hence its common name). Distinctive to this species of Coreids is a thorn-like projection at the tip of the head, called the clypeus. |
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, Los Angeles County, CA. 4-24-06. © Ron Hemberger
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Coreids can either be predaceous or phytophagous. Western leaf-footed bugs are typically found in southern and western regions of North America. When large populations arise – known to damage almonds and pistachios – they can be biologically controlled by a species of wasp, Gryon sp., which parasitize the eggs of the Western leaf-footed bug. The transmission of a particular fungus by infestations of Western leaf-footed bugs has been observed in laboratory testing; the fungus is known to damage pistachio plants. If handled improperly or when disturbed Western leaf-footed bugs, like all Coreids, can secrete a displeasing odor. Sources consulted: Arnett, Dr. Ross H., Jr. & Jacques, Dr. Richard L. (Eds.). (1981). Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Insects. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc. Borror, Donald J. & White, Richard E. A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1970. Milne, Lorus & Milne, Margery. National Audubon Society: Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders. New York: Chanticleer Press, Inc., 1980. http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~sjtaylor/coreidae/Leptoglossus_clypealis.html Text © Britton Jacob-Schram. Back to Hemiptera index page |
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