''Rhynocoris iracundus'' is an assassin and thread-legged bug belonging to the family

Reduviidae The Reduviidae are a large cosmopolitan family of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush predators: most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic. The main exampl ...

, subfamily

Harpactorinae The Harpactorinae are a large subfamily of the Reduviidae (assassin bugs). About 300 genera and 2,000 species worldwide have been described. Some of the species of the genera '' Zelus'', ''Pselliopus'', ''Sinea'', and '' Apiomerus'' are of intere ...

. The species was first described by

Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus (4 October 1723 – 29 April 1798) was an Austrian entomologist. In his branch of natural history, the short name Poda refers to him. Poda was born and died in Vienna. He was the author of ''Insecta Musei Graecens ...

in 1761. ''Rhynocoris iracundus'' differs in colour from ''R. erythropus'' in that the sides of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

in ''R. erythropus'' are yellow/orange and black, instead of the red and black seen in ''R. iracundus''. In general, the front lobe of the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ea ...

of ''R. iracundus'' is broadly blackened, while in ''R. rubricus'' it is red. Furthermore, ''R. iracundus'' has narrower red stripes on its legs and abdomen. The base of scutellum is twice as long as the height. This species is found in many parts of Europe. Reduviidae - Rhynocoris iracundus.jpg Assassin bug (Rhynocoris iracundus) with bee (Apis ssp) prey.jpg, With prey

References

* Putshkov P.V., Putshkov V.G., 1996 - Family Reduviidae - Catalogue of the Heteroptera of the Palaearctic Region * Dioli P., 1990 - Rhinocoris iracundus (Poda, 1761) e Rhinocoris rubricus (Germar, 1816). (Insecta, Heteroptera, Reduviidae). Il Naturalista Valtellinese - Atti Mus. civ. St. Nat. Morbegno (SO). * Rieger C., 1972 - Zu Rhinocoris Hahn, 1833 (Heteroptera). Dtsch. Ent. Zeitsch. Stuttgart.

External links

''BioLib''

''Fauna Europaea''

''Meloidae''
Reduviidae Hemiptera of Europe Insects described in 1761 Taxa named by Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus {{Cimicomorpha-stub