Scientific name

Xylocoris flavipes (Reuter)

Taxonomic position

Hemiptera: Anthocoridae

Diagnosis

Adult bug dark brown with antenna, rostrum and legs ligher, yellowish, wings pale brown. Pronotum more or less smooth without much punctation. Adults often brachypterous / with reduced wings.

It is a general predator commonly found in storage and hence is known by the common name, 'warehouse pirate bug'. The nymphs and adults feed on eggs, larvae, and pupae of many insects in storage like Ephestia kuhniella, Oryzaephilus spp., Tribolium castaneum, etc.

   Pronotum and osteolar peritreme

Images

     Brachypterous form

Distribution

Cosmopolitan.

Biology / Hosts

It is a general predator commonly found in storage and hence is known by the common name, 'warehouse pirate bug'. The nymphs and adults feed on eggs, larvae, and pupae of many insects in storage like Ephestia kuehniella, Oryzaephilus spp., Tribolium castaneum, etc.

Reference

  • Yamada, K., Yasunaga, T., Nakatani, Y. and Hirowatari, T. 2006. The minute pirate-bug genus Xylocoris Dufour (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) from rice mills in Thailand. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 108(3): 525-533.