Spined soldier bug
Encyclopedia
Podisus maculiventris, the spined soldier bug is a species of insect
common in North America. They are predators of gypsy moth
caterpillars and the larvae of beetles such as the Colorado potato beetle
and the Mexican bean beetle
. Since the Mexican bean beetle is widely regarded as a notorious agricultural pest in North America, soldier bugs are generally considered useful garden insects.
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
common in North America. They are predators of gypsy moth
Gypsy moth
The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae of Eurasian origin. Originally ranging from Europe to Asia, it was introduced to North America in the late 1860s and has been expanding its range ever since...
caterpillars and the larvae of beetles such as the Colorado potato beetle
Colorado potato beetle
The Colorado potato beetle , also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle or the potato bug, is an important pest of potato crops. It is approximately 10 mm long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each...
and the Mexican bean beetle
Epilachna varivestis
The Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis, is a species of lady beetle which is a notorious agricultural pest. It is one of the few lady beetles that feed on plants rather than other insects. It is found throughout Mexico and the eastern United States, and is abundant in the wetter and more...
. Since the Mexican bean beetle is widely regarded as a notorious agricultural pest in North America, soldier bugs are generally considered useful garden insects.
External links
- spined soldier bug on the UFUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ IFASInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
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