Red bugs in the chicken coop

[ebunny]

I seem to have a mini plague of red bugs in the chicken coop. The coop has sugar cane mulch on the floor with lime mixed in it but these bugs still seem to crawl all through it.

They don't seem to bother the chickens, who don't want to eat them, so I'm just curious to see if anyone else has them and knows what they are? And if you do, are they playing some useful role like eating mites??

[Michaelangelica]

The chooks don't eat them?
Sorry never seen it before.

[Fernando Pessoa]

Pumpkin beetle.Boiling water on the main clusters should knock em back,chickens not always fond of them.
Best wishes

[ebunny]

Hi Fernando

Just did a little search on Pumpkin Beetles and I'm not sure that's what they are

http://australianmuseum.net.au/Pumpkin-Beetle

The colours are in reverse and we don't have squahes or zucchini in the garden (have done in the past) so not sure what they would be eating and breeding from. They don't seem to be anywhere but the chicken coop, so they must be eating something in there (poo or lice, if there is any).

The chickens don't eat or seem affected by them and they don't crawl on them, only in the litter and around the coop. Very stange.

Many thanks for the suggestion though and I'll watch out for these with the next crop of squashes....

[Michaelangelica]

Aparently they dont taste too good

The cucurbitacins are oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenoids produced as secondary plant compounds by nearly all genera of Cucurbitaceae. The very bitter and toxic cucurbitacins are effective semiochemicals acting ecologically as allomones to protect the Cucurbitaceae from attack by a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate herbivores. For the Luperini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) the cucurbitacins have become kairomones for host selection, affecting the behavior of this large group of 1500 species of Aulacophorina (Old World) and Diabroticina (New World) by arrest and compulsive feeding. When feeding on bitter cucurbits these beetles sequester large amounts of cucurbitacins in their blood and tissues, and these act as allomones to deter predation. Specific detoxification and excretory mechanisms of the Diabroticina enable these beetles to avoid the toxic effects of the cucurbitacins.

They are supposed to look like this
Maybe you have discovered something new?
According to Darwin god was especially fond of beetles

[Susan Girard]

Good to have a photo but still a little difficult to see a lot of detail. i think your insects look more like they are from the bug Family not the beetle Family. I know that many insects are called bugs colloquially but they are in fact an insect type in their own right.
And I think yours may be Assassin Bugs, they are sometimes used as a biological control for some of the pests in sugar cane.

[Fernando Pessoa]

Yes bunny good eyes,I rushed to an early diagnosis based on the front cover of the good old Allan Searles pest and diseases.Good luck.

[Adam]

I agree that they are not pumpkin beetles. They look very familiar to me, I feel like I've seen them before but I don't know the species. Can you get a close-up picture?

[ebunny]

lol Michaelangelica - I'll remember that in future (in case God strike me down if I step on one)

I'm attaching a close up for the entomoligsits amongst us. Looked at images of the Assassain bugs and am not sure about that either....

[Michaelangelica]

Looked at images of the Assassain bugs and am not sure about that either....

Yes certainly an Assassin bug shape
I think the Sydney Museum may have an identification service on line (?)
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Beetles-order-Coleoptera

http://australianmuseum.net.au/What-...gs-and-beetles

I once had an entomologist set traps on my small farm, as she knew I was organic.
A week later she bounced up to me TERRIBLY excited as she had found a bug unknown to science!
I rejoiced with her, but later began to wonder if this was really a good thing for me ?!