Diet

• Adults and nymphs: Primarily plant-feeding, using piercing-sucking mouthparts to obtain nutrients from plant tissues and developing seeds.

• Host-plant information for the species is relatively limited, but available records indicate an association with woody and herbaceous vegetation.

• As with other members of the subfamily Pachycorinae, feeding is generally associated with plant juices rather than predation.

Range

• Orsilochides scurrilis is a shield-backed bug (Family Scutelleridae) in the Subfamily Pachycorinae.

• Its established range extends from Mexico through Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. A 2021 study documented the species in Arizona for the first time, extending its known range into the United States.

• Around Zihua, it would likely be considered occasional.

Habitat

• Occurs in warm, relatively dry habitats, including tropical dry forest, scrub, woodland, forest edges and disturbed vegetation.

• It can occur in areas with a mixture of shrubs, trees and herbaceous plants.

• Around Zihua, suitable habitat would include tropical deciduous forest, thorny scrub, forest margins and areas of secondary vegetation.

• Adults are generally encountered on vegetation, although their cryptic colouring can make them difficult to detect.

Size

• Orsilochides scurrilis is a medium-sized shield-backed bug, with the broad, strongly convex body characteristic of Scutelleridae.

• The enlarged scutellum covers most of the abdomen and wings, giving the insect its characteristic shield-like appearance.

• It has a relatively compact, oval body and typically exhibits contrasting dark and pale markings.