Common flowerbug
Adult of Anthocoris nemorum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Anthocoridae
Genus: Anthocoris
Species:
A. nemorum
Binomial name
Anthocoris nemorum
(Linnaeus, 1761)

The common flowerbug (Anthocoris nemorum) is a common minute pirate or flower bug.[1]

Distribution

The common flowerbug is found across Europe and the Palearctic to China.[2][3] It is common in Great Britain and Ireland.[1] In the Alps it is found to about 2000 meters above sea level.

Habitat

It more commonly inhabits lower moist, shaded vegetation than trees,[4] and especially nettles in the later half of the growing season.[5]

Description

A nymph of Anthocoris nemorum

Anthocoris nemorum is typically 3–4 mm in length. These bugs have soft elongated flat bodies, with reflective forewings and black pronotum. The legs are mostly orange-brown, with small dark patches close to the tips of the femora. The antennae are mainly orange, with dark tips. In particular, antennal segments I and IV are usually dark, while II and III are pale with dark apices. The front wing is shiny transparent with a distinctive black dot in the center. The membrane shows an hourglass-shaped characteristic black spot at the wing tip. Nymphs of Anthocoris nemorum are dark brown or reddish brown.[4][5]

Biology

Adults can be found all year.[6] They are predatory insects, feeding on small insects including greenfly and red spider mites.[1] A. nemorum lays its eggs inside plant leaves.[7] It has been used as a biological pest control since 1992, primarily to control Cacopsylla pyri.[8] It is capable of biting humans.[9]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anthocoris nemorum.
Wikispecies has information related to Common flowerbug.
  1. 1 2 3 N Arlott; R Fitter; A Fitter (1994). Collins Complete Guide to British Wildlife. Collins. p. 224. ISBN 0-00-219212-8.
  2. ↑ Natura Europaea
  3. ↑ Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. Catalogue of Life
  4. 1 2 Joseph Botting. "(Cimicidae) Anthocoris nemorum". British Bugs. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 Influential Points
  6. ↑ iNaturalist
  7. ↑ Stenberg, Johan A.; Lehrman, Anna; Björkman, Christer (2011). "Host-plant genotype mediates supply and demand of animal food in an omnivorous insect". Ecological Entomology. 36 (4): 442–449. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2011.01285.x.
  8. ↑ EPPO / OEPP (2008). "Biocontrol agents: Hemiptera/Heteroptera". EPPO/OEPP. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
  9. ↑ DA Burns (2010). Rook's Textbook of Dermatology, Volume 1, Eighth Edition (PDF). John Wiley and Sons. p. 38.23. ISBN 978-1405161695.
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