Assassin bug nymph | Trujillo, Venezuela.

joslud (74)modCCS Quality Hunterin CCS • 11 days ago (edited)

Greetings, insect and invertebrate observers. Today I'm sharing a post about an insect for which I couldn't find a reliable classification. The online search I conducted using Google Lens didn't yield definitive results. However, it seems to point to a "nymph," meaning it's not an adult, but still in the developmental stage.

Close Up: Assassin bug nymph of the Largidae family.


At first, I thought it was a pair of beetles (order Coleoptera). But upon closer inspection, you can see that its wings, similar to elytra, are sealed, like armor. Also, several times I approached with my camera, and they didn't fly away; they just walked around, trying to hide under the leaves where they were.

You can see that the area under the head has a bump, where the wings of an adult would possibly be. That the edge around the body looks sealed, and a slight shape reminiscent of the figure of a pentagon.

Habitat and behavior.


I observed them early in the morning, before 10:00 am. I found a solitary pair on a plant, probably basking in the sun to warm themselves. I thought they were beetles about to mate. Nearby, on another plant, I found very similar ones, but now in a group of several specimens. I think they are the same species.
The behaviors I observed on-site were: slow movements, a poor response when I approached them, almost able to touch them. Several specimens were grouped together.

Classification




Some photos weren't as sharp as I would have liked. I edited them to improve definition and color. I used Lightroom for this. I also did some research using Google Lens and some Wikipedia files from which the classification was taken. Scientific classification: Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hemiptera Suborder: Pentatomomorpha Family: Largidae. This is the family of pentagon-shaped bugs. Genus: unknown Species: unknown Sources: See [1]

Info:

Item	Description
Equipment:	Umidigi Cell Phone A7S Camera
Mode:	Macro Mode. Layer: 3:4
Author:	@joslud
Edition:	Lightroom
Location:	Outdoor + indoor
Date:	Wed, Jun/29/ 24
In Inaturalist.org	Coordenadas: 9.147478, -70.702758 Familia Largidae by @joslud