Dysdercus is a widespread
genus of
true bugs in the family
Pyrrhocoridae; a number of species attacking
cotton bolls may be called "cotton stainers".
Description
Species may be confused with bugs in the family
Lygaeidae, but can be distinguished by the lack of
ocelli on the head. They can be readily distinguished from most other genera of Pyrrhocoridae by the strong white markings at the junction of the head and thorax, and along the sides of the thorax, and often abdomen.
^Legros, Vincent; Gasnier, Sophie; Rochat, Jacques (2016). "First general inventory of the terrestrial Heteroptera fauna and its specificity on the oceanic island of Reunion". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. Nouvelle série. 52 (6): 311–342.
doi:
10.1080/00379271.2016.1275802.
S2CID89898731.
^Stehlík, J.; Kerzhner, I. M. (1999). "On taxonomy and distribution of some Palaearctic and Oriental Largidae and Pyrrhocoridae (Heteroptera)". Zoosystematica Rossica. 8 (1): 121–128.