The hyaline grass bug is a tiny , about 1/4 inch long, named for the glassy, see-through tips of its wings. It lives on nearly every continent and is found across North America, including the western states. Despite its name, it rarely feeds on grasses.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Adults are about 1/4 inch (6.5–7.5 mm) long. Color varies a lot, from yellowish brown to red. The clear wing membranes usually reach well past the tip of the body, and the dark upper side of the abdomen shows through them.
Look-alikes
The hyaline grass bug's clear wing membrane usually reaches well past the tip of the body, but short-winged individuals exist, so wing length and color alone can't settle it. Stictopleurus species have small ring-shaped marks on the , which the hyaline grass bug lacks. In the hyaline grass bug, the side of the thorax above the hind legs is split by a groove so it looks like three parts. For a sure ID you need a close-up photo of the pronotum and the side of the thorax.
Why they get mixed upSame size, similar colors, and clear wing tips.
Where it lives
- Range
- Lives in North America, including the US, and on every other continent except the coldest regions. A survey of the western states found it on weedy, low-growing plants.
Behavior
- Diet
- Sucks juices mainly from flower buds, flowers, seeds, and fruits. In the western states, adults and young were found on four main kinds of plants: milky-sapped sunflower-family plants like sowthistles, spurges, mallows, and stork's bills. Young bugs grow up on fewer kinds of plants than adults visit.
Name and classification
- About the name
- The name "grass bug" is misleading. A survey of the western US found grasses used as a host only once, by a single colony during a long drought in California.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
More species to explore
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