Diet

• Adults and nymphs: Feed by piercing plant tissues and sucking plant sap, particularly from leaves, stems, flowers, fruits and developing seeds.

• Catorhintha guttula is polyphagous, with recorded host plants in numerous families. These include beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), soybean (Glycine max), corn (Zea mays), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), rice (Oryza sativa), Boerhaavia, Mirabilis, Mimosa and Theobroma.

• Despite this broad host range, many Catorhintha species have a particular association with plants in the Nyctaginaceae family.

Range

• Catorhintha guttula is a leaf-footed bug (Coreidae) in the subfamily Coreinae, tribe Hypselonotini.

• It has an extensive distribution throughout the Americas, ranging from the southern United States through Mexico and Central America into South America, as well as numerous Caribbean islands.

• It is occasionally sighted in Zihua, where the warm climate and diverse vegetation provide suitable habitat.

Habitat

• Found in tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, woodland, scrub, agricultural areas, gardens and disturbed vegetation.

• Adults and nymphs are generally found on herbaceous plants, shrubs and vines, particularly where flowers, fruits or developing seeds are present.

• Around Zihua, examine low vegetation and flowering plants, especially members of the Nyctaginaceae, as well as legumes, cucurbits and other broad-leaved plants.

• Its broad host range means it can occur in both natural vegetation and cultivated areas.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in).

• Body relatively slender and elongated compared with many other leaf-footed bugs.

• Usually brownish or greyish-brown, often with contrasting darker markings.

• The head and pronotum have distinctive structural features characteristic of Catorhintha, while the hind tibiae are grooved rather than dramatically expanded.

• C. guttula belongs to the guttula species group, which contains numerous closely related species.