Tectocoris diophthalmus, commonly known as the Hibiscus Harlequin Bug or Cotton Harlequin Bug, 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. The colours are quite variable. It lives in Northern and 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 Hibiscus

Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...

 family (Malvaceae

Malvaceae

Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...

), as well as cultivated cotton. They will also eat Illawarra flame tree flowers, grevillea and bottlebrush saplings.

They pierce the stems of young shoots and suck the sap. Females lay clsuters of eggs around twigs and then guard them until they hatch.

They are also known as "stink bugs" as they have scent glands which produce a bad smell which, when it is emitted by one bug, triggers others in the group, multiplying the bad smell.

External links

• OzAnimals.com Australian Wildlife http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Hibiscus-Harlequin-Bug/Tectocoris/diophthalmus.html
• Excellent photos - showing colour variations and mating. http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_stinkbugs/Harlequin.htm