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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Just One Mirid Bug?


I noticed this adult mirid bug today, just hanging out in the rose-filtered sunlight. It's weird when you notice just one of something. Ok, obviously I can't be in all places at all times; and even when I am out observing bugs, I can't see everything. But it's weird when you notice just one of something. Wholesale procreation is one thing insects are known for; you've heard the one about the world being overrun with housefly maggots if the offspring of just one pair were to all survive? So, as I just said, it's weird when you see just the one of any sort of bug.

This one bug looks very similar to this mirid bug nymph I saw two months ago, so I'm going out on a limb to suppose they are the same species if not indeed the same individual. Two months seems like a longish development time, but we did have a really c
ool spring. More heat would have made the buggies grow faster.


















Anyway, while digging through the photo archives, I remembered this fuzzy shot of a tiny (just hatched) hemipteran taken way back in late February this year. It bears a strong family resemblance to the other two bugs, don't you think?

All three of these guys were found hanging out on flowers. I like looking at flowers, and have lots of flowers to look at. It's weird that I've only seen the one, or is it three, of this particular bug. So far.

Note: The term mirid bug refers to a large family of true bugs, maybe 10K species rich. So this is a very generalized identification, and that is thanks due to Eric Eaton, one of the bug-meisters at bugguide.

3 comments:

Cindy said...

I never knew what these bugs were. They were just small "generic" bugs to me. Not too flashy or interesting. But thanks to your post, I now have a name for them at least, and when we saw them on our Bug Safari today at the arboretum, I was able to tell the kids what they were!

vanessa cardui said...

The mirid ID is still pretty generic; it's a large family of true bugs. Hope your safari was a success.

Unknown said...

hai iam umesh i don't knew about these bugs ,i just surfed your site in my point of view your bugs are simply superb. bye....