| Harpocera thoracica (Fallen, 1807) |
|
|
|
Scientific name: Harpocera thoracica (Fallen, 1807) Common name: French name: Order: Heteroptera Family: Miridae Wingspan : 6 to 6.8 mm. Biotope: Forests with oaks. These plant bugs feed on buds, pollen on blossoms but also on aphids. Geographic area: Europe except in northern Scandinavia, Asia east to the region of the Caspian See. Observation period : There is only one generation per year. The annual cycle is mainly spent in the egg state. Hatching out happens in April and the development to the adult state only lasts about ten days. Adults are observed since late April. The last ones die before Mid-June. |
Harpocera thoracica is a variable colour from ocherous yellow to black (rather ocherous yellow for females and black for males but there are other colour variants) and shows a thin and pale pubescence. The head is black with a whitish median line and a whitish rear edge. The antennae are greyish yellow to blackish. The second article is clearly laterally inflated at the tip on males (this is a good criteria to identify the species). The pronotum often shows a thin pale median line. Its rear edge is sinuous. The tip of the scutellum is paled coloured. The tip of the cuneus is black. The legs are yellowish. The apex of hind femora is darkened. Nymphs are reddish with a pale dorsal line over the complete length. They bear black hairs. |
| [To know more about the Harpocera thoracica] [Top] |
|
The tip of second article of the antennae is not inflated. The other identification criteria are clearly visible. So this one is a female Harpocera thoracica. Furthermore the main colour matches the Typica variant. |
André Bon January 2017