Tuponia
brevirostris / hippophaes
Family: Miridae
This
genus contains three very small bugs which are recent arrivals to
Britain and feed on tamarisk Tamarix.
The tibiae are pale with long dark spines set in
small black spots.
T. brevirostris
and T. hippophaes are
bothuniformly
green, although the outer edge of the forewings may be paler
and is often whitish. The tip of the cuneus is white. They can be
separated by the length of the rostrum, which is very short in T. brevirostris (reaching the fore or sometimes the mid coxae) and longer in T. hippophaes (reaching or exceeding the hind coxae).
T. brevirostris was first recorded in 2001 and T. hippophaes in 2010. Both species have been found in various parts of southern England and confirmed records suggest that T. hippophaes may be the more frequent of the two.
Adult: July-September
Length 2.5-3.0 mm
|
 |
|
Adult: Kent (July
2009) ©Tristan Bantock
|
 |
 |
Adult: Kent (July
2009) ©Tristan Bantock
|
Adult: Kent (July
2009) ©Tristan Bantock
|
