I have had a bit more time to look at the bugs. Turns out that I picked up a male and a female (above). The male was photographed in the previous post. The female is so strange looking from behind and it really does make you wonder where the wings go. So I thought I would see if I could see the wings and the female just displayed them! Seth Gibson researched it and commented on the previous post. They do indeed fold up like a fan and then hide under the over-sized scutellum! Check it out!
The last one shows them folding up before disappearing under the scutellum! What an incredible little weirdo it is! I have always wanted to come up with an English name for a species and I have decided, after talking to Tristan Bantock, that Trapezium Shieldbug Coptosoma scutellatum is a useful name as it describes the unusual shape. What do you think?
What an amazing creature. Great find, well deserved reward for all your time in the field
ReplyDeleteI still think Flying Butt is suitable. But NOT Flying Butt Bug, that could be misread as something else entirely...
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