Swan plant seed bug nymph
Photo by Mike Pigneguy
Arocatus rusticus (StÂl)
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Lygaeidae
Size range
- About 10 mm long
Distribution
- Originally from Australia.
- Found in NZ, as far south as Central Otago
Life History
- Nymphs and adults feed on seeds of swan plant (Gomphocarpus).
- Also found on Tweedia and Parsonsia (a NZ creeper)
- Adults hibernate amongst dead leaves and under bark
