Cuspicona

Green potato bug Cuspicona simplex, from Brisbane Insects.

Belongs within: Pentatominae.

Cuspicona is a genus of shield bugs found in Australasia and insular southeast Asia, most commonly found feeding on Solanaceae or on Eremophila (Gross 1976).

Characters (from Gross 1976): Small to moderate size, rather oval or kite-shaped. In life greenish fading to yellowish or yellowish-brown. Densely punctate on head and pronotum. Head wider across eyes than long, disc flattened or somewhat convex. Pronotum at least twice as wide across lateral angles as long, lateral angles acute, produced into a conical or spinose process or obtuse, anterolateral margins in front of this region straight but diverging posteriorly, marginate or narrowly obtuse. Scutellum triangular, apex narrow or broad, anteriorly only faintly raised. Posterior exterior angles of laterotergites armed with short acute spine or unarmed, those of seventh laterotergites not strongly produced posteriorly. Metasternal-mesosternal keels moderately elevated, their inferior margins only greatly sinuated and apically not or hardly surpassing apex of prosternum. Tibiae generally cylindrical or only flattened apically. Abdomen broadly V- or U-shaped in posterior view.

<==Cuspicona Dallas 1851 G76
    |--*C. thoracica [=Rhynchocoris thoracica] G76
    |--C. carneola Van Duzee 1905 G76
    |--C. cooperi Gross 1975 G76
    |--C. equisignata Gross 1975 G76
    |--C. eremophilae Gross 1975 G76
    |--C. intacta Walker 1868 G76
    |--C. longispina Gross 1975 G76
    |--C. obesula Gross 1975 G76
    |--C. ooldeae Gross 1975 G76
    |--C. privata [=Ocirrhoe privata] G76
    |--C. procallosa G76
    |--C. simplex Walker 1867 G76
    `--C. strenuella Walker 1868 G76

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[G76] Gross, G. F. 1976. Plant-feeding and Other Bugs (Hemiptera) of South Australia. Heteroptera—Part II. Handbook of the Flora and Fauna of South Australia.