Adelphocoris ticinensis

Description

Adelphocoris ticinensis is a species of bug inthe soft bug family (Miridae). The bugs are 7.0 to 7.6 millimeters long. The usually conspicuously reddish-brown colored bugs occasionally also appear in a greenish-brown basic color. Like the other species of the genus Adelphocoris, they have spurs on the rear rails (tibiae) that are as long or longer than the rails are wide. The thighs (femora) are darkly spotted. The species occurs in large parts of Europe and is absent only in Scandinavia and the south of the Mediterranean countries. To the east, the distribution area extends across Asia Minor to the Caucasus and the Caspian region. Apparently, this area is not populated across the board. One sub-area stretches from southern England via the Netherlands to the North German lowlands, another stretches from eastern Austria to southern Europe. In between there is an isolated occurrence in the Middle Rhine area, from which there are only two records from the 20th century. Since 2007, several records of the species have also been found in eastern Saxony. Various wet habitats such as wet meadows, low and high moors or silted-up zones of oxbow lakes are settled. The bugs, which apparently show no specialization in certain plant species, are found on herbaceous plants and bushes. They arecommonon purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicari),yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia),swamp vetchling (Lathyrus palustris),swamp squirrel (Stachys palustris), swamp trefoil (Lotus uliginosus) andswamp thistle (Cirsium palustre) proven. They probably feed zoophytophagously, so they suck on plants as well as predatory on small invertebrates. Overwinters as an egg. thenymphsappear mainly in May and June, the adults can usually be found from July, more rarely and earlier, especially in warm places.