yet another example of why we need taxonomists
I just read this...(clears throat)...highly informative news item - Dangerous Insect Found in Flower Shipment at Miami Airport!!! (emphasis mine) - and thought to myself, so this is what the world would be like without taxonomists. Here's the entire article, verbatim (in case it disappears from that link...as it should, in my opinion):
Hemiptera, of course, does include an extraordinarily diverse array of species that feed on xylem, phloem, seeds, other insects, vertebrates, blood, fungi, MANY of other food sources, and, alas, the seed heads of grasses and sedges through piercing/sucking mouthparts comprised of four stylets (the mandibles and maxillae). I don't know off hand how many species are pestiferous, but my (admittedly wild) guess is multiple hundreds - e.g., kissing bug (definitely dangerous with respect to Chagas disease transmission), bed bugs, tarnished plant bug, squash bug, cottony cushion scale, woolly adelgid, and the sorghum aphid are just a few. That means <1% of the 80,000 (and growing) species classified as Hemiptera's (sic!) are pestiferous. Even fewer (waaaay fewer) than that are what I would call dangerous. Also, it's important to note that hemipterans have already been found in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa - not just South America. I'm sure you already knew that, though (wink).
I don't think this insect is what the reporter had in mind as the subject of his/her article. A cool-looking shield-backed bug (Scutelleridae) captured by Gustavo.
UPDATE: A much more informative article of that event has been found. This reporter even includes a species name (Uttaris pallidipennis Stål) and an image of the little rascal! And, to top it off, the insect is from South Africa.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they have intercepted a rare and dangerous insect found in a shipment of flowers at a Miami airport that could cause significant damage.Are you serious? Don't journalists take writing classes anymore?
Officials said Saturday they were examining a box of flowers last week at Miami International airport when they found Hemiptera. Hemiptera's are typically aphids, cicadas, and leaf hoppers and comprise about 80,000 different species. They feed on the seed heads of grasses and sedges. The insect is found in South America.
Officials believe it is the first time the insect has been found in the U.S.
Hemiptera, of course, does include an extraordinarily diverse array of species that feed on xylem, phloem, seeds, other insects, vertebrates, blood, fungi, MANY of other food sources, and, alas, the seed heads of grasses and sedges through piercing/sucking mouthparts comprised of four stylets (the mandibles and maxillae). I don't know off hand how many species are pestiferous, but my (admittedly wild) guess is multiple hundreds - e.g., kissing bug (definitely dangerous with respect to Chagas disease transmission), bed bugs, tarnished plant bug, squash bug, cottony cushion scale, woolly adelgid, and the sorghum aphid are just a few. That means <1% of the 80,000 (and growing) species classified as Hemiptera's (sic!) are pestiferous. Even fewer (waaaay fewer) than that are what I would call dangerous. Also, it's important to note that hemipterans have already been found in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa - not just South America. I'm sure you already knew that, though (wink).
I don't think this insect is what the reporter had in mind as the subject of his/her article. A cool-looking shield-backed bug (Scutelleridae) captured by Gustavo.
UPDATE: A much more informative article of that event has been found. This reporter even includes a species name (Uttaris pallidipennis Stål) and an image of the little rascal! And, to top it off, the insect is from South Africa.
Ha, you might have thought the fact those "Hemiptera's" included "aphids, cicadas, and leaf hoppers" might have been a clue that this is not the first time that they've been recorded in the US!
Posted by david w on August 29, 2009 at 07:08 PM EDT #
WTF! That is both hilarious and sad...).
great find.
Posted by bug_girl on August 29, 2009 at 07:25 PM EDT #