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Shield Bug
Eocanthecona furcellata
15.4578, 119.915
Field Notes
Description:
Pentatomidae; Asopinae; Eocanthecona furcellata Wolff, 1811. This bug belongs to the Subfamily Asopinae. All of the members of this subfamily are predators and are useful in controlling pests. They will even prey on other Pentatomidae which are all herbivorous - paraphrased from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asopinae...The E. furcellata shown here appears to be a nymph at 3rd instar according to pictures in a scientific article - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/347/1/012009/pdf
Habitat:
I spotted this Shield Bug about 10 feet above my head sitting on a leaf of an unidentified tree at the side of a track, during a bug hunt in a hilly area, a short distance from our house. The last picture shown above (a less cropped version of my second photo) was included just to give a better understanding of the habitat.
Notes:
I think it is important to point out the following, to avoid ambiguity: The Wikipedia article on Eocanthecona furcellata (in German, but translated to English by Google), which I have cited as a reference supporting my identification, clearly states that E. furcellata is present in South and Southeast Asia. That's exactly what I needed to know because Philippines is, of course, in Southeast Asia. However, the article goes on to say "The distribution area extends from India and Sri Lanka in the west across China, Taiwan and Indo-India to Indonesia. Furthermore, the bug species is represented in parts of Japan." I am certain that the author is simply trying to emphasise the vast extent of of this bugs distribution range. I don't think the author is implying that any countries in Southeast Asia, which are not specifically mentioned, are to be excluded. If that were the case, surely it would be better to say "South and Southeast Asia, excluding the following...." So, unless someone tells me that I am wrong and explains why, I will put this down to an unfortunate and slightly clumsy choice of words which rather than providing additional clarification, just causes obfuscation. As a footnote, I don't want to labour the point, but when the article mentions "Indo-India", Can I assume that is just a "typo" which should read "Indo-China"?
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