Bitta alipes
| Bitta alipes | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Coreidae |
| Tribe: | Anisoscelini |
| Genus: | Bitta |
| Species: | B. alipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Bitta alipes (Guérin-Méneville, 1833) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
The matador bug, Bitta alipes, is a species of leaf-footed bug in the family Coreidae. It has been observed in Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela,[2] and Mexico.[1] It was first described by French entomologist Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1833. Anisoscelis flavolineatus, previously considered a distinct species, is currently considered a synonym of B. alipes.[1]
The large colourful flags on the legs are not used in reproductive competition,[3] but appears to have an aposematic anti-predator function with birds.[4] The animals accumulate cyanogens from their host plants, chiefly cyanogenic Passiflora plants, making them unpalatable or even lethally toxic to vertebrate predators.[5]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anisoscelis alipes.
- 1 2 3 Brailovsky, Harry (2016-07-27). "The genus Anisoscelis Latreille (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Anisoscelini): new species, taxonomical arrangements, distributional records and key". Zootaxa. 4144 (2): 195–210. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4144.2.3. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 27470848.
- ↑ "Anisoscelis alipes Guérin-Méneville, 1833". gbif.org. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
- ↑ Longbottom, C.; Falk, J.J.; Greenway, E.; et al. (2022). "Why does the Matador Bug, Anisoscelis alipes (Hemiptera: Coreidae), Wave its Brightly Colored Legs?". Journal of Insect Behavior. 35: 171–182. doi:10.1007/s10905-022-09809-0.
- ↑ Rubin, Juliette J.; Medina-Madrid, Jorge L.; Falk, Jay J; Somjee, Ummat (2024). "The matador bug's elaborate flags deter avian predators". Behavioral Ecology. arae019.
- ↑ Morrison, Colin R.; Sedio, Brian E.; Gilbert, Lawrence E.; Havird, Justin C.; Somjee, Ummat (2026). "The Matador Bug and Several Related Leaf-footed Bugs (Hemiptera: Coreidae) Accumulate Cyanogens From their Host Plants". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 52 (4): 62. doi:10.1007/s10886-026-01730-6. ISSN 0098-0331.