Alice Springs Desert Park

ASDP InsectsASDP Insects Index ASDP Ants ASDP Camponotus denticulatus ASDP Opisthopsis sp ASDP Bees Amegilla chlorocyanea Bee Braunsapis sp Exoneurella eremophila Bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Mating Lasioglossum (Homalictus) ASDP Beetles Blessed Leaf Beetle (Paropsisterna beata) 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 Southern Moon Moth (Dasypodia selenophora) ASDP Diptera Bee Fly (Australiphthiria sp) Bee Fly (Ligyra cingulata) ASDP Gyromantis ASDP Hemiptera / Heteroptera Crusader Bug (Mictis profana) Ground Shield Bug ASDP Orthoptera ASDP Katydid (Taeniomenae) Variable Stropis Grasshopper ASDP Tropidoderus gracilifemur ASDP Wasps Potter Wasp Torymus Chalcid Wasp

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 Mictis profana page.

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/Mictis profana
  2. Crusader Bug Mictis profana), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/416188-Mictis-profana

ASDP InsectsASDP Insects Index ASDP Ants ASDP Camponotus denticulatus ASDP Opisthopsis sp ASDP Bees Amegilla chlorocyanea Bee Braunsapis sp Exoneurella eremophila Bee Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) Mating Lasioglossum (Homalictus) ASDP Beetles Blessed Leaf Beetle (Paropsisterna beata) 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 Southern Moon Moth (Dasypodia selenophora) ASDP Diptera Bee Fly (Australiphthiria sp) Bee Fly (Ligyra cingulata) ASDP Gyromantis ASDP Hemiptera / Heteroptera Crusader Bug (Mictis profana) Ground Shield Bug ASDP Orthoptera ASDP Katydid (Taeniomenae) Variable Stropis Grasshopper ASDP Tropidoderus gracilifemur ASDP Wasps Potter Wasp Torymus Chalcid Wasp

ASDP FaunaASDP Arachnida ASDP Spiders ASDP Birds ASDP Insects ASDP Marsupials ASDP Mammals ASDP Reptiles Monotreme – Short-beaked Echidna

Alice Springs Desert ParkFauna Flora Nature Theatre Nocturnal House