Alice Springs Desert Park

ASDP InsectsASDP Ants ASDP Opisthopsis sp ASDP Bees Amegilla chlorocyanea Bee Braunsapis sp Exoneurella eremophila Bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Mating Lasioglossum (Homalictus) ASDP Beetles Bush Cockroach (Ellipsidion humarale) Snout Beetle (Lixus) Transverse Ladybird ASDP Butterflies & Moths Banksia Moth – Caterpillar Caper White Butterfly Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp sthenelus) Day Flying Moth / Mistletoe Moth Heliotrope Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides) Noctuinae (Caterpillar) Processionary Caterpillar ASDP Diptera Bee Fly (Australiphthiria sp) Bee Fly (Ligyra cingulata) ASDP Hemiptera / Heteroptera Crusader Bug (Mictis profana) Ground Shield Bug ASDP Orthoptera ASDP Katydid (Taeniomenae) ASDP Wasps Potter Wasp Torymus Chalcid Wasp ASDP Tropidoderus gracilifemur

Alice Springs Desert ParkFauna Flora Nature Theatre Nocturnal House

From the family Coreidae and one of the leaf-footed bugs, is this species known as the Crusader Bug (Mictis profana). Other common names include Citrus Crusader Bug and Holy Cross Bug.

Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) male, Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) male, Alice Springs Desert Park NT

This species Mictis profana, belongs to the group of insects known as “true bugs” and is identified by the pale yellow cross on the hemelytra.

Mictis profana (Crusader Bug), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug), Alice Springs Desert Park NT

Mictis profana feed on a range of plants, such as wattles, eucalypts, citrus and garden plants. It is pictured here on the flowering plant Parrot Pea (Crotalaria cunninghamii) in the Alice Springs Desert Park.

Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) 2nd instar, on Parrot Pea (Crotalaria cunninghamii), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) 2nd instar, on Parrot Pea (Crotalaria cunninghamii)
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) 2nd instar, on Parrot Pea (Crotalaria cunninghamii), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) 2nd instar, on Parrot Pea (Crotalaria cunninghamii)

They have a life span of about 3.5 months, with their life cycle from egg to adult completed in approximately 38 days.

Mictis profana (Crusader Bug), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) mating, Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) mating, Alice Springs Desert Park NT

For more information check out our Fauna > Insects > Hemiptera > Mictis profana

Mictis profana (Crusader Bug), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Mictis profana (Crusader Bug), Alice Springs Desert Park NT

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hemiptera
  • Suborder: Heteroptera
  • Infraorder: Pentatomomorpha
  • Superfamily: Coreoidea
  • Family: Coreidae
  • Subfamily: Coreinae
  • Tribe: Mictini
  • Genus: Mictis
  • Species: Mictis profana

Footnote & References

  1. Mictis profana (Fabricius, 1803), Crusader Bug, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/de272308-a7fb-46cf-bcfd-1bc245862c9b
  2. Crusader Bug Mictis profana), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/416188-Mictis-profana

ASDP InsectsASDP Ants ASDP Opisthopsis sp ASDP Bees Amegilla chlorocyanea Bee Braunsapis sp Exoneurella eremophila Bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Mating Lasioglossum (Homalictus) ASDP Beetles Bush Cockroach (Ellipsidion humarale) Snout Beetle (Lixus) Transverse Ladybird ASDP Butterflies & Moths Banksia Moth – Caterpillar Caper White Butterfly Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp sthenelus) Day Flying Moth / Mistletoe Moth Heliotrope Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides) Noctuinae (Caterpillar) Processionary Caterpillar ASDP Diptera Bee Fly (Australiphthiria sp) Bee Fly (Ligyra cingulata) ASDP Hemiptera / Heteroptera Crusader Bug (Mictis profana) Ground Shield Bug ASDP Orthoptera ASDP Katydid (Taeniomenae) ASDP Wasps Potter Wasp Torymus Chalcid Wasp ASDP Tropidoderus gracilifemur

ASDP FaunaASDP Arachnida ASDP Birds ASDP Insects ASDP Reptiles Dingo Ghost Bat Greater Bilby Numbat Red Kangaroo Short-beaked Echidna Spinifex Hopping Mouse Western Quoll

Alice Springs Desert ParkFauna Flora Nature Theatre Nocturnal House