Diet

• Adults and nymphs: Primarily plant-feeding, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to extract sap from plants.

• Species of Jalysus are particularly associated with grasses and other herbaceous vegetation.

• Some stilt bugs may supplement their diet with small insects, mites or other arthropods, and opportunistic feeding on dead organic material has also been reported among Berytidae.

• Feeding is generally not considered a major source of damage to plants.

Range

• Jalysus is a genus of stilt bugs (Berytidae) in the subfamily Metacanthinae, tribe Metacanthini.

• Species occur in North America, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. Several species are native to Mexico.

• They are occasionally sighted in Zihua, particularly in areas with grasses and other suitable herbaceous vegetation.

Habitat

• Commonly associated with grasses, grasslands, meadows, open woodland, forest edges and disturbed vegetation.

• Their long legs allow them to move easily among grass stems and narrow leaves, where they can be surprisingly difficult to see.

• Around Zihua, search tall grasses, grassy margins and herbaceous vegetation, particularly in sunny areas.

• They may also occur in agricultural fields and other open habitats.

Size

• Adult length: generally around 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in).

• Body extremely slender and elongated, with very long, delicate legs.

• The antennae are also long and contribute to the characteristic stilt-like appearance.

• Colouration is generally brown, reddish-brown or greyish, providing camouflage among stems and dried grasses.

• The genus has several structural characteristics useful for identification, including the form of the scent-gland opening and projecting spine on the thorax.