Tuesday, May 8, 2012

name that insect!

This beautiful friend loves to hike on the tea trees. I met him on the hills of Xishuangbanna, at 1200m of altitude. He doesn't talk a lot, but he likes the Camellia Sinensis too. He is a tea friend in some way. Do you think this 'teamate' has a positive impact on the health of the trees, or is it considered as a pest? 




13 comments:

  1. Jakub TomekMay 9, 2012 at 1:02 AM

    Beautiful photos! But I still think it is a pest.
    Jakub

    ReplyDelete
  2. GingkoMay 9, 2012 at 1:26 AM

    from the size, I think he is a predator of pests, not a pest :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. GingkoMay 9, 2012 at 1:27 AM

    He also looks more carnivore than herbivore. So I don't think tea is his food source :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. TsuboMay 9, 2012 at 4:10 AM

    Eheh, nice pest ... i don't know the name in english, but in french, it's a " Punaise "

    ReplyDelete
  5. discipleofthetealeafMay 10, 2012 at 8:42 PM

    I think I am inclined to agree with Gingko that it might ba a predator of pests, at least that was my first thought from the initial image.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WilliamMay 11, 2012 at 7:34 PM

    Thanks for your comments. I would also tend to think this insect is a predator considering its size, but on the last picture, you can see that the leaf on the bottom right and bottom left have been attacked. Was our tea friend sleeping at that time?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. discipleofthetealeafMay 13, 2012 at 5:51 AM

      Ah!! I totally missed that chewed out leaf! Good on Henry Nicolas for getting it correct.

      Delete
  7. TsuboMay 13, 2012 at 2:30 AM

    I found it again : it's a "Punaise de la graine de thé" ( http://www.journaux.fr/la-punaise-de-la-graine-du-the-_authentiques-insectes_loisirs_159631.html ) ... in english bug of the tea grain ... so it's a tea pest, eating tea leaf.

    ReplyDelete
  8. WilliamMay 13, 2012 at 2:59 AM

    Great, you got it!

    The latin name is Poecilocoris latus, you can see a larger picture there: http://sinobug.aminus3.com/image/2011-12-06.html

    You can send me your address at bannachamail@gmail.com, I will send you a few samples.

    Thank you Henry!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jakub TomekMay 14, 2012 at 1:47 AM

    Ouch, we were supposed to say its name? I did not want to spoil the "pest or predator game" - I have to admit that I put "tea bug" into Google images and looked it up and read it is a pest. Still, a good fun and beautiful bug - thanks!
    Jakub

    ReplyDelete
  10. GingkoMay 14, 2012 at 11:45 AM

    William, do you mean a sample of the bug? That's so cool! Anybody knows if it's ok to get dead bugs in an international mail? This is a beautiful bug! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  11. WilliamMay 14, 2012 at 7:52 PM

    I only have tea samples :)

    It seems you can buy this insect on the internet, just type in its latin name and you'll find out.

    This insect has a really beautiful shield, maybe used as an alert color to prevent birds from eating him. Even if it's a pest, he's still my friend, we both consume a lot of tea leaves anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  12. GingkoMay 14, 2012 at 10:42 PM

    Oh my silly misunderstanding! :-p

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)