Picromerus bidens - Lunch

Being one of the (mostly) predatory Asopinae, Picromerus bidens has a preference for caterpillars and other soft larvae.

comments (4)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Funny, seeing almost all photos of such bugs in isolation, I never put much thought into what they feed on. Cool collage! Posted 7 years ago
1. Pudding4brains
  
  Lion
  
  Ah, you may also like this topic for Arma custos then :o)
  https://forum.waarneming.nl/smf/index.php?topic=398581.msg2120395#msg2120395 Posted 7 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    That is awesome and so surprising, I never imagined them to be such carnivores! Posted 7 years ago
  2. 1. Pudding4brains
      
      Lion
      
      Assassin bugs (Reduviidae) and the Damsel bugs (Nabidae) have the name of course, but almost all Asopinae (subfamily of the Pentatomidae) are predators too, as well as most Anthocoridae, but also some of the "Plant bugs" (Miridae)! Some are quite specific in their menu and hence depend on the presence of their prey species, such as Rhacognatus punctatus that basically just hunts the Heather beetle (Lochmaea suturalis) or the Anthocoris butleri that only feeds on Psylla buxi ("Boxwood Psyllid"). Others are clearly less picky about their food :o) Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago

The Picromerus bidens

''Picromerus bidens'' is a carnivorous species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae. A large and distinctive predatory shieldbug, which has unmistakable thorn-like projections on the front of the pronotum.

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Similar species: True Bugs

Species identified by Pudding4brains