Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Infraorder: Cimicomorpha
Superfamily: Miroidea
Family Miridae
SubFamily Mirinae
Tribe: Mirini
Genus Wekamiris
Species: W. auropilosus
Binominal name: Wekamiris auropilosus
Wekamiris auropilosus is a small ( 6mm long) endemic, terrestrial insect in the family Miridae which are commonly called plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs. Most widely known mirids are species that are notorious agricultural pests that pierce plant tissues, feed on the sap, and sometimes transmit viral plant diseases.
Wekamiris auropilosus has been recorded from Taranaki, Tauranga, Dunedin and Auckland including the east coast Islands of Waiheke, Tiritiri Matangi and the Hen and Chicken Islands.
The underside. The bug's piercing, sucking mouthpart is a long tube which it inserts into a plant to feed. The tube can be seen lying between its legs. Because the feeding occurs inside the plant, these bugs are less likely to be killed by insecticides that only coat the outside of the leaf. However, they are often very susceptible to systemic insecticides.The term systemic means that the chemical is soluble enough in the water that it can be absorbed by a plant and moved around in its tissues.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
