| Coleotichus blackburniae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Scutelleridae |
| Genus: | Coleotichus |
| Species: | C. blackburniae |
| Binomial name | |
| Coleotichus blackburniae White, 1881[1] |
|
Coleotichus blackburniae is a species of insect in the family Scutelleridae, the jewel bugs. It is commonly known as the Koa bug or the Koa shield bug.[1] It has been dubbed the stinkless stink bug for its lack of the malodorous defensive chemicals present in other heteropterans.[2] It is Hawaii's largest endemic true bug.
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The exoskeletons of Koa bugs contain many different iridescent colours.[3]
The eggs hatch approximately 9 days after being laid. They are only a few millimetres wide, and are laid in a tight cluster. They are green in colour at first, and then turn red as they develop.[3]
This insect occurs on all the main islands of Hawaii.[4][5] They are found on `a`ali`i (Dodonaea viscosa) bushes[6] and koa (Acacia koa) trees.[6][4]
Common to all true bugs, this species has no mouth parts with which to bite, cut, or chew its food. Instead it has a tube-like structure that it uses to suck the contents from the seeds of several types of koa and `a`ali`i plants.[3]
Numbers of this insect were greatly reduced on most of the Hawaiian islands. A parasitoid fly which preys on hemipterans, Trichopoda pennipes was introduced with the intention of controlling a similar insect, but also attacked the koa bug. Today, it is common in only a few areas of the Big Island.[4]