Diet

• Adults: Feed by piercing plant tissues with their straw-like mouthparts and sucking plant sap from leaves, stems, flowers and developing fruits.

• Nymphs: Also feed on plant juices and usually remain on or near their host plants as they develop.

• Anasa species are particularly associated with cucurbits, including squash, pumpkins and related plants.

Range

• Anasa scorbutica is a leaf-footed bug (Coreidae) in the subfamily Coreinae, tribe Hypselonotini.

• It occurs in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, with its distribution centred on tropical and subtropical regions.

• It is occasionally sighted in Zihua, where suitable vegetation and warm conditions provide habitat.

Habitat

• Found in tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, woodland, scrub, gardens, agricultural areas and disturbed vegetation.

• Adults and nymphs are usually found on leaves, stems and developing fruits, particularly on herbaceous plants and vines.

• Around Zihua, examine squash-family plants, vines and other broad-leaved vegetation, especially during the rainy season when these plants are actively growing.

• Adults may also wander onto nearby vegetation and can occasionally be attracted to lights at night.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 12–18 mm (0.47–0.71 in).

• Body elongated and somewhat flattened, with the characteristic appearance of a coreid.

• Usually brown, greyish-brown or reddish-brown, providing good camouflage among dried leaves and stems.

• The hind legs have the expanded tibiae characteristic of leaf-footed bugs, although the expansion is not as dramatic as in some other Coreidae.