Sunflower-associate

Guides

• Phymata albopicta

  jagged ambush bug

  Phymata albopicta is a species of jagged ambush bug in the family Reduviidae. Like other members of the genus Phymata, it is a sit-and-wait predator that hunts on flowers, using raptorial forelegs to seize prey. The species has been documented in North America and Middle America. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females being larger and capable of capturing larger prey items.

  predatorambush-predatorflower-visitorReduviidaeHemipterasexual-dimorphismraptorial-forelegsgoldenrod-associatesunflower-associate

• Suleima baracana

  baracana moth

  Suleima baracana is a tortricid moth whose larvae bore into stems of the Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Adults are small, cryptically colored moths that resemble bird droppings—specifically goldfinch waste—providing effective camouflage when resting on upper leaf surfaces. The species has been documented in Alberta, Canada, and is part of a guild of sunflower-specialist tortricid moths that exploit cultivated and native sunflowers.

  TortricidaeLepidopteraHelianthusstem-borermimicrybird-dropping-mimicryNorth-Americasunflower-associate