Red Party

_{"Cotton stainer juveniles eating a fruit." Canon EOS 80D with EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM; 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800 (photo by: author)}

I made this macro on one of my trips to Jardín Botánico Nacional in Havana, Cuba. The previous day a torrential downpour had fallen so that the morning was cool and damp. These juveniles were having a feast under a majagua tree.

The cotton stainer (Dysdercus andreae) is an abundant and common red bug that at times is very damaging to cotton, citrus fruits, and okra, but to breed it prefers the majagua (Hibiscus elatus); because they are gregarious sometimes are found in large numbers, forming spots of several hundred individuals congregated on the trunk of the plant.

_{This is a landscape of Jardín Botánico Nacional. The theme picture was taken several hundred feet to my right. (photo by: author)}
Cotton stainers are so named because many species are pests of cotton. They feed on half-opened cotton bolls and seeds, resulting in reduced oil content and seed viability. In addition, adult excreta produce an indelible yellow stain that discolors cotton lint.