Subject: hemipteran nymph
Location: Valley View, South Australia
February 27, 2015 9:58 pm
I found thousands of tiny bugs climbing my back fence from the ground upwards this morning and wondered what they were. I took the attached micrograph using a USB microscope. The background grid is 5mm squares
Signature: Geoff Smith
Hi Geoff,
Since these Hemipterans are immature nymphs, they may be difficult to identify to the species or genus level. We believe they are Dirt Colored Seed Bugs in the family Rhyparochromidae, and they do not look too dissimilar than these unidentified nymphs from Australia, and they also resemble these nymphs from California. Whenever a species appears in a heretofore new location, we suspect it may be an invasive, exotic, introduced species without natural predators. The climate in California and Australia are similar enough that species from either location can easily adapt, so they may be native, or introduced, and since they look so similar to the California sighting, it is possible they are the same species, and that one or the other, or both, are introduced.
Many thanks Daniel
I agree with what you’ve said – interestingly the block behind my house has recently been cleared and the bugs are swarming all over the fences around this newly bare ground. They are all still there today and the ants don’t appear to like them, although I noted that a small spider had eaten just a few of them overnight. I accidentally squashed a few against my hand when I first noticed them and they smell unpleasant.
Regards
Geoff