Leaf-footed Bug

Coreidae; Coreinae; Homoeocerini; Homoeocerus puncticornis (Burmeister, 1834). At this time of year, in this part of the Philippines, it is very common to see H. puncticornis around the garden and in vegetable plots. If you live here and have not seen this species, but would like to, all you have to do is plant a Hyacinth Bean Vine (Lablab purpureus) in your garden (it does not take long to grow) and your wish will be fulfilled. L. purpureus is very attractive to many Hemipters and if I were to compile a list of bugs that I have seen on our Lablab varieties, H. puncticornis and one or two other Coreids would be near the top of the list, just behind the Plataspids. A word of caution might be appropriate here. If you do plant a Hyacinth Bean Vine, just to check if what I am saying is correct, please keep an eye on it. What starts out as a few bugs visiting your plant (the mating, the ovulating, the hatching of nymphs) can present you with lots of opportunities for photos to include in your spottings, but there is a "downside". It won't take too long before these voracious vegetarians decide that you are not providing them with enough to eat and then they will start spreading to neighbouring gardens. It is unlikely that your neighbours would be very happy about it. In order to avoid this problem, I have always made sure that the vines are severely cut back so that the number of bugs is never allowed to grow exponentially.