Coleotichus blackburniae

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Coleotichus blackburniae
Starr-110426-5222-Acacia koaia-leaves with koa bugs Coleotichus blackburniae adult-Hawea Pl Olinda-Maui (25056566166) 1.jpg
Scientific classification
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C. blackburniae
Binomial name
Coleotichus blackburniae
White, 1881 [1]

Coleotichus blackburniae is a species of insect in the family Scutelleridae, the jewel bugs. It is commonly known as the Koa bug or the Koa shield bug. [1] It has been dubbed the stinkless stink bug for its lack of the malodorous defensive chemicals present in other heteropterans. [2] It is Hawaii's largest endemic true bug.

Contents

Description

The exoskeletons of Koa bugs contain many different iridescent colours. [3]

The eggs hatch approximately 9 days after being laid. They are only a few millimetres wide, and are laid in a tight cluster. They are green in colour at first, and then turn red as they develop. [3]

Distribution and habitat

This insect occurs on all the main islands of Hawaii. [4] [5] They are found on `a`ali`i ( Dodonaea viscosa ) bushes [6] and koa ( Acacia koa ) trees. [4] [6]

A cluster of instars Coleotichus blackburniae03.jpg
A cluster of instars

Also found on Formosan Koa (Acacia confusa) which is native to Southeast Asia. It has been commonly used in Hawaii as an ornamental landscape tree that has been deemed invasive. A. confusa and A. koa both have distinctive phyllodes that differentiate each species but since its introduction C. blackburniae has been recorded to associate with the invasive Formosan koa.

Behaviour and diet

Common to all true bugs, this species has no mouth parts with which to bite, cut, or chew its food. Instead it has a tube-like structure that it uses to suck the contents from the seeds of several types of koa and `a`ali`i plants. [3]

Numbers of this insect were greatly reduced on most of the Hawaiian islands. Two parasitoid flies which prey on hemipterans, Trichopoda pennipes [7] [8] and Trissolcus basalis [8] were introduced with the intention of controlling Nezara viridula , [7] [8] but also attacked the koa bug. While Trissolcus basalis attacked the Koa Bug's eggs, Trichopoda pennipes attacked Koa Bug adults. [8] Today, the Koa Bug is common in only a few areas of the Big Island. [4]

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Acacia koa, commonly known as koa, is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. The highest populations are on Hawaiʻi, Maui and Oʻahu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scutelleridae</span> Family of insects

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green stink bug</span> Species of true bug

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown marmorated stink bug</span> Species of Pentatomid insect

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<i>Acacia confusa</i> Species of plant

Acacia confusa is a perennial tree native to South-East Asia. Some common names for it are acacia petit feuille, Ayangile, small Philippine acacia, Formosa acacia, Philippine Wattle, and Formosan koa. It grows to a height of 15 m. The tree has become very common in many tropical Pacific areas, including Hawaii, where the species is considered invasive.

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<i>Scotorythra paludicola</i> Species of moth

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<i>Udara blackburni</i> Species of butterfly

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<i>Cryptophlebia illepida</i> Species of moth

Cryptophlebia illepida is a species of moth in the family Tortricidae that is endemic to the islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, Lānaʻi and Hawaiʻi. Common names include koa seedworm, klu tortricid, koa seed moth, litchi borer, litchi moth, macadamia nut borer and macadamia nut moth. It was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1882.

<i>Trichopoda pennipes</i> Species of fly

Trichopoda pennipes is a species of feather-legged fly in the dipteran family Tachinidae.

As with a number of other geographically isolated islands, Hawaii has problems with invasive species negatively affecting the natural biodiversity of the islands.

<i>Trissolcus japonicus</i> Species of wasp

Trissolcus japonicus, the samurai wasp, is a parasitoid wasp species in the family Scelionidae, native to east Asia but now found in Europe, North America, and Chile. It is chiefly known for parasitizing Halyomorpha halys. It deposits eggs into the eggs of the stink bug, and as the wasp larvae develop, they kill the stink bug eggs. A single adult wasp emerges from each stink bug egg.

<i>Falcataria falcata</i> Species of plant in the family Fabaceae

Falcataria falcata, commonly known as the Moluccan albizia, is a species of fast-growing tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands. It is cultivated for timber throughout South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. This tree is considered to be invasive in Hawaii, American Samoa and several other island nations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It reaches about 30 m (100 ft) tall in nature, and has a massive trunk and an open crown.

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<i>Monteithiella humeralis</i> Species of shield bug of the family Pentatomidae

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<i>Trissolcus basalis</i> Species of wasp

Trissolcus basalis, or the green vegetable bug egg parasitoid, is a parasitoid wasp in the family Platygastridae known primarily for parasitising the horticultural pest Nezara viridula, the green vegetable bug.

<i>Trissolcus oenone</i> Species of wasp

Trissolcus oenone is a parasitoid wasp in the family Platygastridae, native to Australia and New Zealand. It parasitises the eggs of stink bugs (Pentatomidae), but little is known about its biology.

<i>Cuspicona simplex</i> Species of true bug

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References

  1. 1 2 "Coleotichus blackburniae (Koa Sheild Bug)". Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  2. Coleotichus blackburniae (Scutellaridae) - HEAR species info
  3. 1 2 3 http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/affiliates/prism/documents/KoaBugLesson.pdf Koa Bug Investigation
  4. 1 2 3 Koa Bug
  5. Species Profile for Koa shield bug (Coleotichus blackburniae)
  6. 1 2 Insects of Hawaii: Coleotichus blackburniae (Koa bug)
  7. 1 2 Funasaki, George; Lai, Po-Yung; Nakahara, Larry; Beardsley, John; Ota, Asher (1988). "A Review of Biological Control Introductions in Hawaii: 1890 to 1985" (PDF). 28: 56.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. 1 2 3 4 Follett, Peter; Duan, Jian, eds. (1999). Nontarget Effects of Biological Control. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. pp. 77–78. ISBN   9781461370673.