Predatory vs Herbivorous True Bugs

cacoseraph · Predatory vs Herbivorous True Bugs

There are many many true bugs. True bugs have piercing/sucking mouth parts, whether they eat plants or feed off of other animals.

The feeding mouthparts of a true bug can be called by various names, including: stylet, proboscus, rostrum, beak

Generally speaking, a plant feeder will have a very long and thin stylet that lays down over the sternum of the bug. Generally predatory or vampiric bugs have a shorter, thicker stylet.

Plant eating examples:
brown marmorated stink bug : http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5018057

Predatory/vampiric examples:

cacoseraph

cacoseraph