Subject: A mystery Shield Bug in Costa Rica
Geographic location of the bug: San Ramon, Costa Rica
Date: 01/20/2018
Time: 01:01 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I found this bug in a bromeliad leaf. It’s so pretty and I wanted to find out what he was. Thanks!
How you want your letter signed: Irene Dickinson
Dear Irene,
This really is a beautiful Shield Bug in the family Scutellaridae, and it is quite apparent why in parts of the world, Shield Bugs are called Jewel Bugs, notably Australia, as this Queensland Museum posting indicates. Alas we were not having any luck locating images online of white Shield Bugs from Costa Rica, so we turned to our own archives where we have an image posted of a Spotted Shield Bug, Pachycoris torridus, from Costa Rica that looks similar but is quite different in both colors and markings. We thought perhaps your individual might be in the same genus. We were actually shocked to learn it is the same species, based on this image from Project Noah. According to Neotropical Entomology there is much variation in both colors and markings for this species.
