Cantao ocellatus explained

Cantao ocellatus is a species of shield bug in the family Scutelleridae found across Asia.

Description

Cantao ocellatus is reddish or ochre in overall colour it has dark legs and bluish black antennae. A dark bluish black stripe is present along the central line of the head. The pronotum sometimes has two black spots on the front margin and sometimes has eight spots. The scutellum has eight or six black spots of variable size but with yellowish borders. The lateral angle of the pronotum is elongated into a curved spine but this can be much reduced.[1] A distinctive symbiotic bacterial genus Sodalis from phylum Gammaproteobacteria is found in its midgut.[2] Maternal care of eggs and nymphs has been noted in this species.[3] The female stands over and covers the eggs after they are laid but eggs on the edge that she cannot cover are often parasitized by wasps.[4]

Distribution

Cantao ocellatus has been reported from the Indian Subcontinent into Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. It has also been reported from Japan and Zaire.

Behaviour and ecology

Cantao ocellatus suck sap from a wide range of plants including Macaranga, Camellia sasanqua,[5] Kigelia, Mallotus,[6] Bischofia javanica and Broussonetia papyrifera.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Distant WL . 1902. Fauna of British India. Rynchota. Volume 1 . 43. Taylor and Francis. London.
  2. Kaiwa, N.. T. Hosokawa. Y. Kikuchi. N. Nikoh. X. Y. Meng. N. Kimura. M. Ito. T. Fukatsu. amp. 2010. Primary gut symbiont and secondary, Sodalis-allied symbiont of the scutellerid stinkbug Cantao ocellatus. Applied and Environmental Microbiology . 76. 11. 3486–3494. 10.1128/AEM.00421-10. 2876435. 20400564. 2010ApEnM..76.3486K.
  3. Takahashi, R.. 1921. Parental care of Cantao ocellatus Thunbg.. Transactions of the Natural History Society of Formosa . 11. 81–86.
  4. Book: Ayyar, T. V. R. . 1920. Notes on the life-history of Cantao ocellatus, Th. . 910–914. Report of the Proceedings of the Third Entomological Meeting Held at Pusa on the 3rd to 15th February 1919. Vol. III.. Superintendent Government Printing, Calcutta, India. https://archive.org/stream/reportofprocee03ento#page/910/mode/1up.
  5. Mcdonald . F. J. D. . 1988 . A Revision of Cantao Amyot and Serville (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae) . Oriental Insects . en . 22 . 1 . 287–299 . 10.1080/00305316.1988.11835493 . 0030-5316.
  6. Nature in Singapore. 5. 2012. 249–262. Records and natural history of the ocellated shield bug, Cantao ocellatus (Thunberg) in Singapore, with observations on egg guarding, hatching, parasitoids, moulting, feeding, and mating (Hemiptera: Scuttelleridae: Scutellerinae). Leong, Tzi Ming. Lee, Benjamin P.Y.-H.. 20 July 2013. 28 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130928164039/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/bulletin2012/2012nis249-262.pdf. dead.
  7. Web site: Plant Host Records Scutelleridae List by Scutellerid Species . 2023-05-31 . www.ndsu.edu.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cantao ocellatus".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.