By Alice Mary Herden on November 4, 2020 ( Leave a comment )

Two Cool Stink Bugs

Two Cool Stink Bugs: Just because they arm themselves with a stink bomb doesn’t mean they aren’t cool!

Let me introduce you to two very cool looking stink bugs- the Conquistator mucronatus and the Anchor. Both species are predatory insects.

Predatory insects eat many other insects and are an essential part of nature and, of course, it’s nature’s way of controlling the insect population.

They have a particular piece to their anatomy called a proboscis-also known as a beak, and to see if a stink bug is a predator or not; it is by their proboscis. The beak on predatory stink bugs is shorter, stronger, and thicker. That adaptation is for them to pierce their beak into slow-moving soft-bodied insects and suck out their inners.

Because of the uniqueness of the Conquistator mucronatus (no common name known, but I did suggest two: conqueror stink bug or sharp point stink bug), it was placed in its own genus. You are one special stink bug!

A look at the Conquistator’s mucronatus taxonomy:

Life
- Kingdom-Animals
  - Phylum- Arthropod
    - Subphylum-Hexapods
      -   Class-Insects
        Order- True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies
        Suborder-True Bugs
        Infraorder- Pentatomomorpha Bugs
           Superfamily Pentatomoidea
           Family Pentatomidae (Stink Bugs)
          Subfamily Asopinae (Predatory Stink Bugs)
        Genus Conquistator (#5 out of the 15 genera of Predatory Stink Bugs )
           Species mucronatus (Conquistator mucronatus)

*https://bugguide.net/node/view/247812/tree

Now we take a look at the Anchor Stink Bug (Stiretrus anchorago). This is a beautiful red and black stink bug, and its red border with black dots is super neat. And when the sunlight hits its shield, a hint of greenish-blue coloration shines. It is pretty neat to see that.

There are different colorations and patterns to this species of the Anchor stink bug. Some are light beige and black or black and orange or even a solid color with little to no patterns. All their specific patterns and coloration change during their metamorphosis and I believe that makes each one unique in its own way.

The work of entomologists is so incredible. The massive amount of time that they put into these observations needs more appreciation. If it wasn’t for their passion for understanding the world of insects and their keen eye for intricate details to ensure that every single insect, no matter how big, small, weird, or stinky they are, has their place within a family.

Links to explore:

Conquistator, a new genus for Podisus mucronatus Uhler, 1897
(Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae) with a re-descripton
of type species

Morphology and life history characteristics of Podisus mucronatus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Genus Conquistator

Genus Anchor

Feature Creature