What’s on the menu today? First report of nectarivory for Rhynocoris cuspidatus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Maria Pizarro-Borrull; Mario Alamo

doi:10.13133/2284-4880/1734

What’s on the menu today? First report of nectarivory for Rhynocoris cuspidatus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Authors

Maria Pizarro-Borrull Entomology Section, Asociación Iberozoa, Madrid, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7410-8511
Mario Alamo Asociación Iberozoa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7410-8511

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13133/2284-4880/1734

Keywords:

Mediterranean ecosystems, Zoophytophagy, Assassin bug, Trophic interactions, Floral resources scarcity

Abstract

This study reports the first observation of nectarivory in the predator reduviid Rhynocoris cuspidatus (Ribaut, 1921) in Spain. One individual of R. cuspidatus was observed sucking nectar from a Jacobaea vulgaris Gaertn. inflorescence in a grassland meadow in Berrecil de la Sierra (Spain). Our observation suggested that R. cuspidatus can use floral resources to obtain sugar or moisture during extreme climate conditions, such as can occur during Mediterranean summer.

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Author Biography

Mario Alamo, Asociación Iberozoa

Coordinator, Entomology section, Iberozoa

Rhynocoris cuspidatus with its rostrum into the inflorescence of a capitulum of Jacobaea vulgaris

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Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Pizarro-Borrull, M. and Alamo, M. (2025) “What’s on the menu today? First report of nectarivory for Rhynocoris cuspidatus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)”, Fragmenta entomologica, 57(1), pp. 103–107. doi: 10.13133/2284-4880/1734.