''Rhynocoris iracundus'' is an

assassin bug The Reduviidae is a large cosmopolitan family of the suborder Heteroptera 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 ...

belonging to the family

Reduviidae The Reduviidae is a large Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family of the suborder Heteroptera of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera (true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush ...

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

. The species was first described by

Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In turn, the name ...

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

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

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 e ...

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 {{Reduviidae-stub