Diet

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

• Feeding habits vary among species, and host-plant information is incomplete for several members of the genus.

• Some species are associated with herbaceous plants and grasses, while others utilise shrubs and other vegetation.

Range

• Mormidea is a genus of stink bugs (Family Pentatomidae) in the Subfamily Pentatominae and Tribe Pentatomini.

• Around Zihua, Mormidea would be expected occasionally to locally common, particularly in warm, vegetated habitats where suitable host plants are abundant. The genus is well represented in Mexico, although abundance varies considerably between species and habitats.

Habitat

• Mormidea species occur in a variety of tropical and subtropical habitats, including tropical dry forest, woodland, scrub, grassland, agricultural areas and disturbed vegetation.

• Many species can be found on low vegetation, shrubs and seed-producing plants.

• Seasonally dry environments can support substantial populations when suitable host plants are flowering or producing seeds.

• Around Zihua, likely habitats include tropical deciduous forest, scrub, grasslands, gardens, agricultural areas and forest margins.

Size

• Adults are generally small to medium-sized stink bugs, commonly around 6–10 mm long, although size varies between species.

• They typically have a compact, somewhat oval or shield-shaped body.

• Colouration is commonly brown, reddish-brown, yellowish or dark, often with contrasting pale markings.

• The genus includes species with relatively distinctive markings on the pronotum and scutellum, which can be useful for identification.