Diet

• Adults and nymphs: Presumed to be primarily plant-feeding, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to obtain sap from leaves, stems and other tender plant tissues.

• The biology and host-plant associations of Lampethusa are poorly documented, so specific host plants should not be assigned without a reliable record.

Range

• Lampethusa is a genus of plant bugs (Miridae) in the subfamily Mirinae, tribe Mirini. The genus was established by William Lucas Distant in 1884 and is currently recognised as valid.

• The genus is Neotropical, with species recorded from Mexico, Central America and South America. Historical records for L. anatina, for example, include Mexico, Guatemala and Panama.

• They are occasionally sighted in Zihua, where tropical vegetation provides suitable habitat.

Habitat

• Likely associated with tropical forest, tropical dry forest, woodland, scrub and forest edges.

• Adults would be expected primarily on foliage and tender plant growth, although detailed habitat information is unavailable for many species.

• Around Zihua, search carefully through shrubs, small trees and dense vegetation, particularly in warm forest margins.

• Their small size and cryptic colouration can make them difficult to detect.

Size

• Lampethusa species are small to medium-sized plant bugs, generally only a few millimetres long.

• Lampethusa anatina, the type species, was originally described as a relatively small mirid and is noted for its resemblance to another plant bug, Paracalocoris attenuatus.

• The body is generally elongate, with the typical Mirini combination of relatively long antennae and legs.

• Colouration can include ochre, brown, reddish or darker markings, depending on the species.