''Zelus longipes'' is an assassin bug (

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 ...

) that is a member of the

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 (bug), Zelus'', ''Pselliopus'', ''Sinea'', and ''Apiomerus'' ar ...

subfamily. Its distribution ranges include southern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

(except Chile), especially in

agroecosystems Agroecosystems are the ecosystems supporting the food production systems in our farms and gardens. As the name implies, at the core of an agroecosystem lies the human activity of agriculture. As such they are the basic unit of study in Agroecology, ...

in Brazil. ''Zelus longipes'' has been considered as a potential

biocontrol agent Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

, as it prefers caterpillars of ''

Spodoptera frugiperda The fall armyworm (''Spodoptera frugiperda'') is a species in the order Lepidoptera and one of the species of the fall armyworm moths distinguished by their larval life stage. The term "armyworm" can refer to several species, often describing the ...

'', which is a moth that is a pest in cornfields. The species is a generalist predator, commonly used to combat picture-winged flies (Diptera: Ulidiidae), which cause damage to sweet corn yields in Florida. ''Z. longipes'' prefers smaller caterpillars, probably because there is less risk of injury while subduing smaller prey.

References

External links

''Zelus longipes''
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q8068843 Reduviidae Hemiptera of North America