Heteroptera > Heteroptera Index
Commonly known as the or Cotton Harlequin Bug and the Hibiscus Harlequin Bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus is the only species in the genus Tectocoris.
Belonging to the True Bugs suborder Heteroptera, the species Tectocoris diophthalmus is a convex and rounded shield-shaped bug, that is up to about 20 mm in size. It is colourful bug, whose colours are quite variable, especially in the immature stages. This extreme colour variability (since 1781) has seen them being described under different names, when in 2006 it was finally confirmed that they were all colour forms of a single species.
The adult females are mostly orange in colour, whilst the males are both blue and red or orange (both with metallic shenn). The nymphs are typically metallic green and purple.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Hemiptera
- Suborder: Heteroptera
- Infraorder: Pentatomomorpha
- Superfamily: Pentatomoidea
- Family: Scutelleridae
- Subfamily: Tectocorinae
- Genus: Tectocoris
- Species: Tectocoris diophthalmus
Footnote & References
- Photographs © Stefan Jones
- Tectocoris diophthalmus (Thunberg, 1783), Cotton Harlequin Bug, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Tectocoris diophthalmus
HeteropteraHeteroptera Index Amyotea hamata (Yellow Predatory Shield Bug) Choerocoris paganus (Red Jewel Bug) Hyocephalus aprugnus Ippatha australiensis Leptocoris Mictis profana (Crusader Bug) Reduviidae Assassin Bugs Shield Bugs – Stink Bugs Tectocoris diophthalmus (Hibiscus Harlequin Bug)
InsectsBees Beetles Blattodea Butterflies Coleoptera Cicada Crabronidae Diptera Dragonflies & Damselflies Formicidae Hemiptera Heteroptera Moths Neuroptera Orthoptera Orthopteroid Processionary Caterpillar Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs and Allies Wasps Water Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis) Witchetty Grub
