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sweet potato bug
Physomerus grossipes
Physomerus grossipes, the sweetpotato bug or large spine-footed bug, is a species of Hemiptera in the family Coreidae. Native to Southeast Asia, the species has immigrated to the Pacific Islands. Frequently laying its eggs on the same Leguminosae and Convolvulaceae plants on which it feeds, the females of P. grossipes are very protective of their young, notably guarding both eggs and nymphs from predators.
From the article Physomerus grossipes on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Brown in color with black legs, individuals grow to be about 2 cm (0.79 in) long. Like other Coreidae, P. grossipes is oval-shaped with segmented antennae, a numerously veined forewing membrane, a metathoracic stink gland, and enlarged hind tibia.
Range & habitat
Native to Southeast Asia, the species' distribution ranges from Indonesia, throughout Peninsular Malaysia and India. The species has spread to other areas, including Guam and Hawaii.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
What it does
The insect feeds on Leguminosae and Convolvulaceae plants. In addition to the sweet potato from which it derives its common name, it frequents other plants of the genus Ipomoea, as well as catjang, Clitoria ternatea and the common bean. Since the removal of juice from the stem in the insect's feeding causes the plant to wither and disrupts its production of fruit, P. grossipes is regarded as a pest.
Wikipedia: “Feeding”
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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Every page naming Physomerus grossipes in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 347933.