Diet

• Adults and nymphs: Primarily plant-feeding, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to feed on plant juices, seeds and developing reproductive tissues.

• Many species are associated with low-growing plants, grasses and seed-producing vegetation.

• Some species may also feed on fallen or decaying plant material, and their precise diets are not well documented for all members of the genus.

Range

• Galgupha is a genus of ebony bugs (Thyreocoridae), a family of small, compact true bugs related to the stink bugs.

• The genus is predominantly New World, with species occurring from the southern United States and Mexico through Central and South America and the Caribbean.

• They are occasionally sighted in Zihua, particularly in warm, open habitats with abundant low vegetation.

Habitat

• Found in grasslands, tropical dry forest, scrub, woodland edges, fields, gardens and disturbed vegetation.

• Many species live close to the ground and may be found among grasses, leaf litter and low-growing plants.

• Around Zihua, search carefully through grass and low vegetation, particularly where plants are flowering or producing seeds.

• They may also shelter beneath leaves, debris and other material during the hottest part of the day.

Size

• Adult length: generally approximately 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in), depending on species.

• Body small, rounded, broad and strongly convex, giving these insects a beetle-like appearance.

• Usually black, dark brown or metallic, sometimes with contrasting pale markings.

• The compact body and relatively short appendages distinguish them from the more elongated forms of many other true bugs.