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Cotton Stainer Bugs
Dysdercus decussatus

These colourful bugs feed only on the seeds of the Sea Hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus). Both adults and nymphs are often found in groups under the leaves or among the flowers of this plant.

Another related Dysdercus feeds on the Portia Tree (Thespesia populnea).

They got their name because many Dysdercus species transfer microorganisms that stain the cotton bolls that they prefer to feed on. In nature, most feed on Portia Tree seeds. But bugs that feed on cotton grow larger and faster.
Mangrove and wetland wildlife at
Sungei Buloh Nature Park
Main features: Medium (12mm) bugs.

Adult: Distinctive yellow cross on black wing cases with red bodies and black legs.

Juvenile: All red, wingless. In Dysdercus decussatus, the immatures have black legs.
group of adult bugs
Photo from
Sungei Buloh
Guidebook
In another Dyscercus species, they have black heads instead.

Status in Singapore: Common

World distribution: Tropical areas.

Classification: Family Pyrrhocoridae.
Feeding on the cotton bolls not only stains them an indelible yellow as plant sap seeps out of the puncture wound, and microorganisms and fungus grows at the site. The feeding habit also damages the fibres by cutting them, and affects the growth of the cotton boll. Some species also damage other agricultural crops such as peaches.

Breeding: The bugs tend to form groups, which help them find mates. The small, pale eggs are laid singly on the food plant or dropped on the ground near the food plant. They hatch in 5-8 days into wingless nymphs which lack the cross-markings on their backs (they do not have a larval stage). Hatchlings gather near their egg shells, then continue to feed in groups. They moult 5 times (instars) before reaching the mature stage whereupon they get their wings and characteristic cross-markings.

LINKS
  • Dr Harold Grau's Cotton Stainer Home Page on the Christopher Newport University website: a site is dedicated to current research on St. Andrew's cotton stainer, Dysdercus andreae.
  • Texas Agricultural Extension Service on the Texas A&M University System: very slow to load, but lots of photos of other cotton pests. Has a fact sheet on Dysdercus suterellus.
  • Plant bugs on Agfact by NSW Agriculture: fact sheet on stainer bugs of the family Pyrrhocoridae; including Dysdercus sidae.
REFERENCES
  To buy these references & others, visit
Nature's Niche
  • Peter K L Ng and N Sivasothi, "A Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore II: Animal Diversity", Singapore Science Centre, 1999 (p. 19: description, habits, habitat, photos).
  • Linda Goh, "Insectopia—Land before Time: about the insects at Sungei Buloh", Wetlands Vol 6 No 1 Apr 99.
 
By Ria Tan, 2001