About Proxys punctulatus (Palisot, 1818)
This insect species, Proxys punctulatus, was first described by Palisot in 1818. Adult Proxys punctulatus measure 11 to 13 millimeters in length. Their bodies are mostly black, with a distinct yellow spot at the apex of the scutellum. They have six legs, which are colored black and cream. Both the head and the humeral angles of the pronotum are pointed. Research into this species' life cycle has been conducted in Union County, Illinois. Adult Proxys punctulatus overwinter in leaf litter located near their host plants. They become active and begin reproducing in June. Females typically lay eggs singly. After hatching, the resulting nymphs develop through five distinct instars. A laboratory experiment reared Proxys punctulatus on Tradescantia subaspera under constant temperature and light conditions. This experiment found that egg incubation takes an average of 9.04 days. The five nymphal instars take an average of 5.06 days, 7.15 days, 7.56 days, 9.32 days, and 15.93 days respectively.
