Pahabengkakia piliceps

Pahabengkakia piliceps
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Family:	Reduviidae
Subfamily:	Harpactorinae
Genus:	Pahabengkakia
Species:	P. pilicpes
Binomial name
	Pahabengkakia piliceps; Miller, 1941

Pahabengkakia piliceps is a species of true bug (Harpactorinae) found in Thailand. This species is apparently a specialist predator of the stingless bee Trigona collina.^[1] Larval P. piliceps mimic the bees, and eggs are laid in the bees' hives. Nymphs of P. piliceps were found to occupy the nest entrance and kill returning foraging bees. The assassin bug does not seem to predate other Trigona species (T. apicalis, T. fimbriata, T. nitidiventris, T. terminata, T. ventralis and T. itama), even though they are also present in the area.

References

^ Wandee Wattanachaiyingcharoen and Touchkanin Jongjitvimol. "First Record of the Predator, Pahabengkakia piliceps Miller, 1941 (Reduviidae, Harpactorinae) in the Stingless Bee, Trigona collina Smith, 1857 (Apidae, Meliponinae) in Thailand" (PDF). The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 7(1): 71-74, May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2009-11-21.

[1] Wandee Wattanachaiyingcharoen and Touchkanin Jongjitvimol. "First Record of the Predator, Pahabengkakia piliceps Miller, 1941 (Reduviidae, Harpactorinae) in the Stingless Bee, Trigona collina Smith, 1857 (Apidae, Meliponinae) in Thailand" (PDF). The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 7(1): 71-74, May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2009-11-21.

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