Hotea Explained

Hotea is a genus of African and Asian shield-backed bugs belonging to the family Scutelleridae.

Species

[1]

Description

Male jewel bugs of the genus Hotea possess an unusually large, spiky, and heavily sclerotized genitalia. They are used in a mating practice known as traumatic insemination, a result of evolutionary sexual conflict. Male Hotea bugs tear through the female reproductive ducts to deposit sperm, inflicting substantial damage to the female in the process.[2]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id900212/ Biolib
  2. Göran Arnqvist & Locke Rowe (2005). Sexual conflict Princeton University Press. p. 129. .