Hibiscus harlequin bug facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hibiscus harlequin bug
Adult female and nymph
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Family:	Scutelleridae
Genus:	Tectocoris
Species:	T. diophthalmus
Binomial name
Tectocoris diophthalmus (Thunberg, 1783)
Synonyms
Cimex lineola Fabricius, 1781 (homonym) Cimex diophthalmus Thunberg, 1783 Tetyra lineola Fabricius, 1803 Tetyra cyanipes Fabricius, 1803 Cimex banksii Donovan, 1805 Scutellera schoenherri Eschscholtz, 1822 Scutellera banksii Guerin, 1838 Scutellera cyanipes (Fabricius, 1803) Scutellera cyanipoda Boisduval, 1835 Scutellera tongae Boisduval, 1835 Tectocoris gambiae Westwood, 1837 Pachycoris lineola (Fabricius, 1803) Scutellera cyanipes (Fabricius, 1803) Tectocoris lineola (Fabricius, 1803) Tectocoris banksii (Donovan, 1805) Tectocoris cyanipes (Fabricius, 1803) Tectocoris bancksii Montrouzier, 1861 (Lapsus) Tectocoris obliquus Walker, 1867 Tectocoris pusillus Walker, 1867 Tectocoris amboinensis Walker, 1867 Tectocoris diophthalmus rufus Stål, 1871 Tectocoris diophthalmus tagalicus Stål, 1871 Tectocoris diophthalmus schoenherri (Eschscholtz, 1822) Tectocoris lineola banksi Dodd, 1904 (Lapsus) Tectocoris diophthalmus cookiana Kirkaldy, 1909 Tectocoris diophthalmus peregrina Kirkaldy, 1909 Tectocoris diophthalmus venusta Kirkaldy, 1909 Tectocoris purpureus Knight et al., 1985 (Lapsus)

nymph, near Cooktown, Australia.

Tectocoris diophthalmus, commonly known as the Hibiscus Harlequin Bug or Cotton Harlequin Bug, is the sole member of the genus Tectocoris. It is a brightly coloured convex and rounded shield-shaped bug with a metallic sheen that grows to about 20 mm. Adult females are mostly orange and males are both blue and red or orange, while nymphs are typically metallic green and purple. The colours are quite variable, and experiments suggest that the variation in colour may reduce bird predation, especially on the immature stages. This extreme level of variation is such that different taxonomists have, since 1781, described this species under different new names at least 16 times, some of these supernumerary names remaining in use until 2006, when it was finally confirmed that they were all colour forms of a single organism. It is common in Eastern Australia, New Guinea and several Pacific Islands in habitats ranging from urban to agricultural and coastal areas.

The Hibiscus Harlequin Bugs feed on many species of the family Malvaceae, as well as cultivated cotton. They will also feed on Illawarra flame tree flowers, grevillea and bottlebrush saplings.

They pierce the stems of young shoots and suck the sap. Females lay clusters of eggs around stems of usually the hibiscus plant and then guards them until they hatch.

female guarding eggs

female with eggs