Himacerus apterus

[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Himacerus_apterus&action=history View history]{{Short description|Species of true bug}}

{{Speciesbox

| name=Tree damsel bug

| image = Himacerus apterus 01.JPG

| image_caption = Himacerus apterus

| taxon = Himacerus apterus

| authority = (Fabricius, 1798)

}}

File:Himacerus apterus in copula - 2012-08-16.ogv

Himacerus apterus, known as the tree damsel bug, is a species of damsel bug belonging to the family Nabidae, subfamily Nabinae.

Description

The species is {{convert|8|-|10.5|mm}} long for males and {{convert|9|-|11.5|mm}} for females.{{cite web|url=http://www.commanster.eu/commanster/Insects/Bugs/SuBugs/Himacerus.apterus.html|title=Size by gender|publisher=Commanster|accessdate=June 23, 2013}} It has black connexivum and orange-red spots with reddish-brown wings.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Nabidae/himacerus_apterus.html|title=Himacerus apterus|work=British Bugs|accessdate=June 22, 2013}} It wingspan is {{convert|8|-|10|mm}}

Distribution

It is found in most of Europe{{cite web|url=http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=452529|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014173254/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=452529|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 14, 2013|title=Himacerus (Himacerus) apterus (Fabricius, 1798)|work=Fauna Europaea|version=2.6.2|date=August 29, 2013|accessdate=October 13, 2013}} and southern and central Asia.{{cite web|url= http://toutunmondedansmonjardin.perso.neuf.fr/EN/pages_EN/himacerus_apterus_EN.htm|title=Himacerus apterus|accessdate=June 23, 2013}} Between 1943 and 1989 the species was found in eastern Nova Scotia.{{Cite journal |last=Lartvière |first=Marie-Claude |date=August 1992 |title=HIMACERUS APTERUS (FABRICIUS), A EURASIAN NABIDAE (HEMIPTERA) NEW TO NORTH AMERICA: DIAGNOSIS, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, AND BIONOMICS |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-entomologist/article/abs/himacerus-apterus-fabricius-a-eurasian-nabidae-hemiptera-new-to-north-america-diagnosis-geographical-distribution-and-bionomics/AACC8BC7A7216F31F738E82D61ECBE0B |journal=The Canadian Entomologist |language=en |volume=124 |issue=4 |pages=725–728 |doi=10.4039/Ent124725-4 |issn=1918-3240|url-access=subscription }}

Diet

The species feeds on mites, aphids and other small insects.

Ecology

Adults lay eggs in late summer on plant stems which hatch in spring. Larvae are found from May to August.

References

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