''Rhynocoris tristis'' is a species of

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 ...

family (Reduviidae), in the 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 ...

. ''R. tristis'' is a polyphagous predator found in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

Life History

''R. tristis'' is associated with '' Stylosanthes guinaensis'', and this association is thought to be due to the prey species attracted by flowers of ''S. guinaensis''. ''R. tristis'' is unusual in the insect world in that males provide paternal care by guarding egg masses from parasitic wasps and insect predators. Males will also cannibalize some of the eggs that they guard. ''R. tristis'' prefers to lay its eggs on the stems of plants, in contrast to most members of the harpactorinae, which prefer to lay them on the undersides of leaves.

References

Reduviidae Hemiptera of Africa Insects described in 1855 Taxa named by Carl Stål {{Cimicomorpha-stub