Native
   © Cora Rimoldi |
Red BugDysdercus albofasciatus This colourful bug controls Pavonia sepium, the yellow flower in the picture. This mallow is native and invasive due to the great number of spiky seeds which attach to whatever passes near and may be dispersed far away. This bug feeds almost exclusively on the ovules, if the flower has not been fertilized yet, or the seeds. By controlling these two factors the plant is not that invasive. Being its primary food this bug is found where there is Pavonia sepium. In this case male and female are mating.© Dolores Fernández |