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Ant Damsel Bug - Himacerus mirmicoides
Length 7 to 8 mm. This genus has a black connexivum with orange-red spots, and rather reddish wings. H. mirmicoides is partly-winged (although there is a macropterus form) and may be separated from the larger H. apterus by the shorter antennae (< length of thorax + abdomen), longer wings and shorter hairs on the hind tibiae.
Usually found on the ground or amongst low herbage.
Adult: All year.
Adults overwinter; mating and egg-laying takes place in the spring. The new generation is complete by August. Early instar larvae are strikingly ant-like, due to the spiny posterior angles of the 2nd & 3rd thoracic segments. There is also a short spine on the 2nd abdominal segment and the margins of the 2nd & 3rd are white, giving the illusion of a narrow waist. The thoracic projections are lost in later instars.
This bug is common in southern Britain in a variety of dry open habitats.
Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland.
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Species profile
- Common names
- Ant Damsel Bug
- Species group:
- Bugs
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
- Order:
- Hemiptera
- Family:
- Nabidae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 77
- First record:
- 10/08/2008 (Gould, David)
- Last record:
- 13/03/2024 (Pugh, Dylan)
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