Diet

• Adults and nymphs: Primarily associated with fungi growing on dead or decaying wood, rather than feeding directly on living plants.

• Dysodius species have been observed living on and beneath the bark of trees, where they feed on fungi and associated organic material. Dysodius lunatus, for example, has been documented in association with fungi growing on rainforest trees.

• This fungal association makes them quite different from many of the plant-feeding true bugs encountered on foliage.

Range

• Dysodius is a genus of flat bugs (Aradidae) in the subfamily Mezirinae.

• The genus is Neotropical, with species occurring from Mexico through Central and South America.

• They are occasionally sighted in Zihua, particularly where suitable dead wood and fungal growth are present.

Habitat

• Closely associated with dead trees, fallen branches, rotting wood and tree bark.

• Adults and nymphs may occur under loose bark, in cracks in dead wood and around fungal growth.

• Around Zihua, look carefully at fallen branches, dead trunks and decaying wood, particularly in shaded areas of tropical dry forest.

• Their extremely flattened bodies allow them to occupy narrow spaces beneath bark where many predators cannot easily reach them.

Size

• Adult length: generally approximately 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in), depending on species.

• Body strongly dorsoventrally flattened, giving flat bugs their common name.

• Usually brown, reddish-brown or dark brown, often with a rough, bark-like surface.

• The body may have elaborate sculpturing and ridges that help the insect blend into bark and fungal substrates.