Virtual Exhibit on Canada's Biodiversity





back to order Hemiptera		 insect database

Habitat
Adults: terrestrial
Immatures: terrestrial

Feeding Habits
Adults: phytophagous
Immatures: phytophagous

Size: 2 to 18 mm
Flight : unknown

North American
Species: 250

Hemiptera Lygaeidae
Seed bugs

Front Wings: leathery
Hind Wings: membranous
Mouthparts: sucking
Antenna Length: shorter than body
Antenna Shape: straight
Front Legs: unmodified
Hind Legs: unmodified

Special Characteristics: Seed bugs are very variable in size, shape and colour. They can be recognized by the venation in the front wing, with four or five simple veins in the membrane of the hemielytron. In some species the front femur is enlarged and appears raptorial.

Comments: Most lygaeids are phytophagous and feed on seeds and sap of host plants. Some species are predaceous and feed on other insects. Some lygaeids are pests.

Species:
Lygaeus kalmii Stal

Common Name:
Small milkweed bug

Feeding Habits: This species is phytophagous on milkweed plants.

Distribution:

Comments:
The bright colours advertise that this species is poisonous as a result of eating poisonous milkweed sap and storing the compounds in its body. This species can become very abundant on milkweeds in the summer.