Steve: What makes a true bug?

Art: Bugs is sort of the common name people generally use to refer to any insects.

True bugs referes to A group of insects characterized by gradual metamorphosis or hemimetaboly as we call it in the biz It's an egg, several nymphal stages and then an adult.

And they have piercing sucking mouth parts.

Steve: Bed bugs.

Art: Sure.

Piercing sucking mouth parts for piercing your hide and your circulatory system to draw a blood meal.

Steve: Wheel Bugs Art: The adults are very conspicuous in the fall They have that wonderful gear like structure on their back They are predatory true bugs They feed on other insects.

Steve: Leaf footed bugs.

Art: Yeah, Leptoglossus.

That looks like their wearing bell bottom pants.

Steve: Are they predators?

Art: No, they're all strictly plant eaters But they're often confused with kissing bugs.

Steve: Of course the stink bug.

Art: The brown marmorated stink bug.

which is an Asian import that aggregate on southern and eastern exposures of homes and outbuildings and eventually die by the droves in sunlit windows or light fixtures Steve: My favorite is the Florida Predatory stink bug.

Art: Euthyrhynchus Floridanus Steve: (Laughs) Steve: This one actually predates on other stink bugs.

Art: Right.

There's a subfamily of stink bugs that are predators and many of them are considered to be biological controls of of other insects.

Steve: When is it appropriate to have the bug part of the name attached to the name itself?

Art: If it's a true bug Then the common name is written as two words.

Bed Bug.

But if it's something that's not really A true bug, Then it's written as one word.

Pillbugs.

All written as one word.

They're not even insects.

They are crustaceans.

Steve: So you gotta know your stuff before before you go to spell it.

Art: Look at flies.

You got horse fly.

house fly.

but if you're talking about butterflies it's one word.

dragonflies, damselflies, Steve: Dobsonfly.

Art: Dobsonfly.

There you go.

You got it.

bye