''Myrmecoris gracilis'' is a species of flightless

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

n bug from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Miridae The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the Synonym (taxonomy), taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and g ...

. The genus '' Mymecoris '' is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

with one

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

species. It differs in its outward appearance and way of life from other "grass bugs" in the Stenodemini, being

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

y and an effective ant mimic.Chinery, 2005

Description

The bugs are four to six millimeters long. The adult insects resemble ants of the genus ''

Formica ''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the subfamily Formicinae, including species commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type ...

'', the larvae dark '' Lasius'' ant species. The appearance of a typical

hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

n "waist" is created by the paler coloration of the front of the abdomen and the back of the thorax, contrasting with the rest of the body which is mainly black, effectively camouflaging the bug's thick waist. They are often found together with ants, to which they have a convincing but superficial resemblance. The long rostrum is held inconspicuously beneath the head. The bugs suck plant juices, but feed mainly on

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

s, other small

insects Insects (from Latin ') are 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 of jointed ...

and insect eggs, sometimes on honeydew, unlike other "grass bugs" (Stenodemini) which are exclusively herbivorous. The larvae hatch in May. The adults can be found from early June to early August. There is one generation a year. The overwintering eggs are buried in older blades of grass. Both sexes are usually flightless but some winged individuals occur. The generic name is from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Μύρμηξ, ''Múrmēx'', ant, and κόρῐς, ''kóris'', bug. The specific name is the Latin for slender or graceful.

Distribution and habitat

''Myrmecoris gracilis '' is found across the whole of northern and central Europe, as well as the western part of the northern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

.Wachmann, 2004 To the east it is common in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. The bug lives on dry and warm to moderately damp, grassy open habitats. The adults can be seen climbing on grasses and herbaceous plants in cool damp weather. The species was formerly classed by the IUCN as "Rare" in its pre-1994 system; in the UK, the species had been recorded in 15 ten-kilometre squares or fewer at that time. It is described as a "not common" inhabitant of dry heathland in Britain, where it is confined to the far south of England in an area bounded by Exeter, Bristol, Oxford, Luton and Eastbourne. In the

Avon Gorge The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long Canyon, gorge on the River Avon (Bristol), River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5&nbs ...

it forms 11.1% of the insect visitors to '' Trinia glauca''.

References

Sources

* M. Chinery: ''Collins Complete Guide to British Insects''. Collins, 2005. Pages 96–97. . * E. Wachmann, A. Melber, J. Deckert: ''Cimicomorpha. Microphysidae (Flechtenwanzen), Miridae (Weichwanzen).'' Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2004. . {{Taxonbar, from=Q1956786 Mimicry Miridae Hemiptera of Europe