Anthocoridae

Flower Bugs

HEMIPTERA > HETEROPTERA > CIMICOMORPHA > Anthocoridae

A large family of small, mostly 3-4mm long predatory bugs, that are widely regarded as being the most difficult group of species to identify. The 'British Bugs' online identification guide lists 34 species, many of which are shown as being common, but with only seven actually described.

The most widespread and frequently recorded member of the family is Anthocoris nemorum, described as having reflective forewings and an entirely black pronotum, coupled with legs that are mostly orange-brown, and antennae that are largely pale in the 2nd and 3rd segments, but dark at the tips. The forewings are boldly marked and the membrane has a distinctive hour-glass shaped patch. Similar species are distinguished by a combination of some of these features, particularly relating to the colour of the forewings, pronotum, legs and antennae.

The tiny dark-purple 'pirate bug' nymph with a long rostrum that I photographed foraging amongst lichen on a young oak tree was positively identified as Temnostethus pusillus by an expert on the UK Hemiptera FB group. There are three similar species in the genus, but apparently even as a nymph the actual species can be determined by their antennae. Unfortunately, Temnostethus pusillus hasn’t been fully described, but from translation of a German article I did establish that the micro-habitat where I found the individual is very typical as they regularly colonise lichen covered trunks of various broadleaved trees, especially Fagus (beech), Fraxinus (ash) Quercus (oak) and Malus (apple). When mature, the bug will still be no more than 3mm long and, unlike the other species of Temnostethus, which are usually short-winged (micropterous), it will almost certainly have long wings (macropterous).