''Lygaeus creticus'' is a species of seed bug in the family Lygaeidae. It is found in areas around the Mediterranean Sea.

Taxonomy

''Lygaeus creticus'' was first formally named in 1853 by French

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Hippolyte Lucas Pierre-Hippolyte Lucas (17 January 1814 – 5 July 1899) was a French entomologist. Lucas was an assistant-natural history, naturalist at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. From 1839 to 1842 he studied fauna as part of the scientific com ...

in ''Essai sur les animaux articulés qui habitent l'île de Crète.''

Description

Both nymphs
image
and adults
image
of ''Lygaeus creticus'' are aposematically colored.

Reproduction

Egg mean clutch size has been noted as 20.7 ± 1.76 for once‐mated females. Males have been observed to harass female ''Lygaeus equestris''.

Diet

''Lygaeus creticus'' i
phytophagous
ref> on ''

Nerium oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...

'' and ''Sorbus cretica''.

References

Lygaeidae Insects of Europe {{pentatomomorpha-stub