Subject: Unidentified bugs
Geographic location of the bug: Pinellas Park, Florida
Date: 05/12/2019
Time: 09:04 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I found these on one plant in my garden, congregating as you see them in the photos. We had a torrential rainstorm, and they were still there the next day. I’m curious as to what they are.
How you want your letter signed: Susan Heidicker Brown
Dear Susan,
These are immature Leaf Footed Bugs with no specific common name. They are known only by the scientific name Spartocera fusca. We have but a single other posting of this species on our site, and that one was submitted 13 years ago. Your submission is a catalyst for us to update that posting as it appears that the site where we originally identified it, BugGuide, no longer recognizes the name we researched in 2006, Corecoris fuscus, however, the comments dating back to 2005 use that original name. Furthermore, our identification in 2006 was speculative as there were only images of adults pictured on BugGuide at that time, and our previous posting, like your submission, is of immature insects. Your images are especially valuable to us as they depict several different instars representing the growth and changes the nymphs undergo as they approach maturity. According to BugGuide: “Breeds on Solanum americanum and other plants. Early instar nymphs are gregarious.“
