Dysdercus suturellus

Dysdercus suturellus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Heteroptera
Family:	Pyrrhocoridae
Genus:	Dysdercus
Species:	D. suturellus
Binomial name
Dysdercus suturellus (Herrich-Schaeffer, 1842)

Dysdercus suturellus is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as a cotton stainer. The adult insect is slender, about 1 to 1.5 cm (0.4 to 0.6 in) long, with a red thorax and dark brown wings marked with a yellow cross. It is native to the southeast of the United States, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. It is a pest of cotton crops and other plants, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the ripening seeds.

The adult Dysdercus suturellus is about 1 to 1.5 cm (0.4 to 0.6 in) long. It has a red head with black antennae, the first segment of which are longer than the second. The thorax has a white pronotal collar and is otherwise mostly red. The sternites of the abdomen are red, bordered with white posteriorly. The corium, the leathery base of the wings, is dark brown margined with cream, giving the insect a large cross-shaped pattern.

Dysdercus suturellus is native to the southeastern-most part of the United States, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. It is a pest of cotton crops and its distribution has been linked to the area of cotton under cultivation. Other host plants include tangerines, okra, papaya, oleander, roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa), rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), Turk's cap mallow, teaweed (Sida sp.), Caesarweed (Urena lobata), Spanish needles (Bidens pilosa), Portia tree (Thespesia populnea), rose, eggplant, black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) and guava. The host plants are all in the families Malvaceae, Sterculiaceae, Bombacaceae and Tiliaceae.

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