Diet

• Adults and nymphs: Feed by piercing plant tissues and sucking plant sap, with a strong preference for legumes (Fabaceae).

• Important recorded hosts include common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), lima bean (P. lunatus), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), soybean (Glycine max), mung bean (Vigna radiata) and lablab (Lablab purpureus).

• It is polyphagous, however, and has also been recorded on plants from several other families, including sweet potato, rice, maize and sugarcane.

Range

• Brachyplatys subaeneus is a shield bug in the family Plataspidae, subfamily Plataspinae.

• Originally native to Asia, it has become an introduced and invasive species in the Americas.

• It is occasionally sighted in Zihua, where the warm climate and abundance of potential host plants provide favourable conditions.

Habitat

• Found in gardens, agricultural areas, disturbed vegetation, forest edges and other habitats containing suitable host plants.

• Adults and nymphs commonly aggregate on stems and leaf petioles, often beneath leaves where they are protected from direct sunlight.

• Around Zihua, check bean plants, legumes, shrubs and other broad-leaved vegetation, particularly plants with dense foliage.

• Because the species can use numerous host plants, it can also occur in urban and suburban gardens.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 5–7 mm (0.2–0.28 in).

• Body compact, broad and strongly convex, with a rounded, almost beetle-like appearance.

• Adults are generally dark metallic brown to black, sometimes with a subtle bronze or greenish sheen.

• The scutellum is large and covers much of the abdomen and wings, giving the insect its distinctive shield-like appearance.