Beautiful W. African beetle
Location: Dakar, Senegal
August 11, 2011 4:11 pm
Greetings from Senegal. I found this beetle dead on my roof/patio today (August). Amazing coloring both top and bottom. Any idea what it is?
Signature: Wayne in Dakar
Hi Wayne,
This is not a beetle. Its piercing/sucking mouth, revealed in the view of the underside, is an indication that this is a True Bug. It is a Lychee Shield Bug, Chrysocoris stolli, which you can verify on TrekNature and on India Nature Watch. Shield Bugs are sometimes called Jewel Bugs because of their beautiful coloration. We were not aware that Africa was part of the range of the Lychee Shield Bug.
Correction: Rainbow Shield Bug
November 13, 2011
Upon creating a new posting today, we have found information that correctly identifies this beauty as a Rainbow Shield Bug. Dudu Diaries calls this beauty the Rainbow Shield Bug, but does not provide a scientific name. It seems in 2009, we received a correction from someone who identified the Rainbow Shield Bug as Calidea dregii, citing a FlickR link. We have also located a pdf entitled 2010-01_Alert_Rainbow_Shield_Bug that identifies the Rainbow Shield Bug as Calidea dregii and provides some fascinating information on the species including: “The Rainbow Shield Bug suck the sap from developing seeds leading to seeds dropping prematurely or not developing fully. In cotton it leads to staining and therefore a lower price if the bolls do not drop prematurely. The low number of mature Jatropha seeds observed in Guinea-Bissau is likely caused by seed dropping due to damage from Rainbow Shield Bugs.” Your photo illustrates a winged adult as well as some immature nymphs. Now with our new research, we need to correct our archives.
The lychee has a history and cultivation going back as far as 2000 BC according to records in China. Cultivation began in the area of southern China, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Wild trees still grow in parts of southern China and on Hainan Island. There are many stories of the fruit’s use as a delicacy in the Chinese Imperial Court. It was first described and introduced to the west in 1782.’,*:
Hottest brief article on our very own web page
<http://www.homefamilydigest.com
The lychee has a history and cultivation going back as far as 2000 BC according to records in China. Cultivation began in the area of southern China, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Wild trees still grow in parts of southern China and on Hainan Island. There are many stories of the fruit’s use as a delicacy in the Chinese Imperial Court. It was first described and introduced to the west in 1782.’,*:
Hottest brief article on our very own web page
<http://www.homefamilydigest.com