Helopeltis

The genus Helopeltis, also known as mosquito bugs, is a group of Heteropterans in the family Miridae (capsid bugs). They include important pests of various crops, including cacao, cashew, cotton and tea. Now in a different subgenus, a number of similar Afropeltis species are pests in Africa. Mosquito bugs have a characteristic spine on the scutellum, which is a diagnostic feature. Classification in the field is based on morphological characteristics, with considerable variations in colouration between insects of the same species (although for example, H. theivora is characteristically green and H. antonii red-brown). With typical Hemipteran sucking mouthparts, they pierce plant tissues and cause damage ranging from leaf tattering and fruit blemishes, to complete death of shoots, branches or whole plants. There has been evident speciation along the islands of the Malay archipelago and there may be cryptic species in this genus. Helopeltis spp. sensu stricto are important 'new encounter' pests of SE Asian cocoa including: Very similar to Helopeltis, the African species were placed into Afropeltis by Schmitz (1968); these species usually have a lesser pests status than their Asian counterparts, with Sahlbergella singularis and Distantiella theobromae causing greatest cocoa tree and crop damage. Monalonion species, belonging to the same tribe, are similarly minor pests of Latin American cocoa. Entwistle (1972) lists and maps ten species of Afropeltis attacking cocoa: