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Leaf-Footed Bug

Acanthocephala terminalis

Published on Project Noah
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35.1782, -80.8488

Field Notes

Description:

looks like a hybrid - part squash bug & part leaf-footed bug; 4 segmented antenna with the last one being orange; leaf-like extension on back legs

Habitat:

school garden

Notes:

“Like all true bugs, the adults are equipped with a beak, or rostrum, a hypodermic needle-like device carried under the head, which it uses to pierce the plant tissue and suck out liquids. They do not simply "suck out sap" they inject a tissue-dissolving saliva and vacuum out the resulting slurry. Bugs cannot ingest solid food, and widespread damage to the plant is a result of these liquefying enzymes.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (1)
ForestDragon
Nice find! The proper common name for this is Leaf-footed Bug (since it doesn't really have an official common name). Squash Bugs are Leaf-footed Bugs but are from Genus Anasa specifically. :-) http://bugguide.net/node/view/35655

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Global Schoolyard Bioblitz!
Photographed
PublishedSeptember 25, 2015

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