Oedancala dorsalis is an

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

, found in the superfamily '' Lygaeoidea'' (seed bugs) which is one of the largest varied family of Heteroptera (a suborder) of Hemiptera. Seed bugs are a very diverse family of seed feeders found on various types of vegetation. There are four

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

species in this genus. ''O. bimaculate'' and ''O. cubana'' are neotropical species that barely make it into the

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Diet, ecology, and distribution

''Oedancala dorsalis'', can be found living on the seed heads of ''Carex'' and ''Cyperus'' both as nymphs (resemble adults except they usually have reduced wings and are incapable of flight) and adults. The seed heads allow easy camouflage. The life cycle of this species has not been studied in detail, but it is known to be a gradual, incomplete, metamorphosis (no pupa stage). It is a wide range, from

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and

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, west to the

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and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and south to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

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. Rare in Florida.

Description

They are moderately sized (6-6.5mm) with bright yellowish tinged with brown. Median and lateral pronotal lines, elongate raised calloused spot on either side of midline of scutellum, pale yellowish to almost white. Scutellar surface and claval commissure black. Apical corial margin sometimes infuscated near apex, lacking a dark spot midway along margun. First label segment extending posteriorly at least to anterior margin of eye. ''O. crassiman'' looks similar, but its first segment on its antenna is longer, and is found from Maryland to South America.

References

"Hemipterans as Plant Pathogens." ''Hemipterans as Plant Pathogens , Annual Review of Phytopathology''. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2017. Chordas, Stephen W. III; Robison, Henry W.; Chapman, Eric G.; Crump, Betty G.; and Kovarik, Peter W. (2005) "Fifty-four State Records of True Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from Arkansas," ''Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science'': Vol. 59 , Article 7. "Classification & Distribution." ENT 425 , General Entomology , Resource Library , Compendium eteroptera N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. "Oedancala Dorsalis." Oedancala Dorsalis, Pachygronthid Seed Bug in the Family Pachygronthidae. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. Slater, James A. The Lygaeidae of Florida (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae). - BugGuide.Net. Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, 1990. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. "Species Oedancala Dorsalis." Species Oedancala Dorsalis - BugGuide.Net. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. "Suborder Heteroptera - True Bugs." ''Suborder Heteroptera - True Bugs - BugGuide.Net''. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. ''The Insects of Cedar Creek''. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. {{Taxonbar, from=Q10607759 Lygaeoidea