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shield bug brood
Lyramorpha cf. maculifer
-2.5628, 140.504
Field Notes
Description:
A "giant shield bug" (Family Tessaratomidae) demonstrating brooding behavior with recently hatched nymphs. "Nymphs usually undergo four to five successive stages of moltings, increasing in size and becoming more adult-like with each stage until the final molting. The stages are individually known as instars, with the earliest stage (just after hatching) being known as the first nymphal instar." Nymphs may also differ significantly from adults in colors and patterns exhibited. In some species, nymphs often exhibit strikingly vibrant colors in contrast to the relative drabness of adults. The colors can also vary between instars.
Habitat:
This spotting on goldfussia (Strobilanthes sp.) hedge vegetation a large semi-urban yard & garden next to a disturbed patch of remnant forest. This is in the equatorial tropics on northern New Guinea.
Notes:
It appears that August is the season for this species to reproduce. See the August 2011 brood spotting of a specimen of this species from almost the exact same spot: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/7152586 This brood was monitored and photographed every day from 9 August through 14 August 2012 when it dispersed. This series documents the change from 1st to 2nd instar, in descending/reverse order.
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