Subject: White liquid being excreted
Location: Florida panhandle
March 31, 2016 7:31 am
I think this is a leaf footed bug, but I’m not sure. It was pushing out this white stuff on both sides just past his hind legs. Do you know what bug it is and what it’s excreting? We live in the Florida panhandle and he is on a maple tree just starting to bloom.
Signature: Amy Brown
Dear Amy,
We have correctly identified your Leaf Footed Bug as a Helmeted Squash Bug, Euthochtha galeator, thanks to images on BugGuide. According to BugGuide: “Males have a white- or cream-colored spur or flap on the posterodorsal corner of the side of the thorax (metepimeron) next to the abdomen. No other insect in e. US has such a projection.” There is no explanation regarding the use of that projection which you mistook for an excretion. According to Featured Creatures: “Males have a white- or cream-colored spur or flap on the posterodorsal corner of the side of the thorax (metepimeron) next to the abdomen. This easily is spotted in the field. No other known insect in eastern U.S. has such a projection. The females lack this flap but do have a whitish callus in the metapleural area.”
