Nature’s Call – Picasso bug
Have you seen these beauties in your garden and have you taken note of what plant you have found them on?
The award for the most beautiful bug in the Durban South area has to go to the Picasso bug.
The Picasso bug is also known as the Zulu hud bug. It belongs to the shield-backed bug family, Scutelleridae. Shield-backed means that the carpus of the Picasso bug is in one piece, this makes flying rather tiring, so these beetles are reluctant to fly.
As with most other brightly coloured insects, its bright colours are there to warn off would-be predators and should you not heed the warning, they then spray a fowl smelling liquid on you. While Picasso bugs all have a similar pattern, no two are identical, very much the same as one would find with Zebra and their stripe pattern. They are also really tiny, growing to a maximum length of just eight millimetres.
The Picasso bug occur over much of subtropical Africa and are known to feed on a variety of different plants. However, here in Durban, they have only been found on one specific type of alien invasive plant at the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve where the Picasso bug feeds on the seeds.
Have you seen these beauties in your garden and have you taken note of what plant you have found them on?
If so, let Warren know so that he can understand the life history of these beautiful little bugs a little better.
If you would like to make contact with Warren to have some of your interesting insects, snakes or spiders identified, send him a WhatsApp message or call him on 072-211-0353.
DID YOU KNOW?
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