On 9 Jan 2004 10:32:28 -0800, (r) wrote:

Hi,

I found insects (?) hiding in my indoor plants last Fall and I'm
hoping someone can help in identifying them. Two pictures of the same
insect are posted on http://web.ncf.ca/eq179/#_insecte_mystère__haut.
The camera's autofocus didn't like the tile floor, so the pictures are
fuzzy.

I nudged one of the insects while it was hanging on a plant, to see if
it would fly, but it just crashed in the floor.

BTW I'm located in Ontario CANADA if it helps to id these.

Thanks,
r

P.S. I couldn't post the pictures to the gardening binaries group
alt.binaries.pictures.gardens as I don't have access to it.

Okay, I'll play. As you've noted, the photos are blurry, which makes
identification more difficult, but here's what I think you have.

It is a 'true bug', classified in the order Hemiptera. Further, it is a
leaf-footed bug, therefore in the family Coreidae. An example can be seen at:
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/biodiver.../Coreidae.html

This may (entirely by accident) be the same species you photographed, but you
could tell that better than I. Regardless, almost all of the leaf-footed bugs
get their food by sucking juices out of plants. There are always some in my
potted tender plants when I bring them in for the winter. I've learned not to
crush or alarm them because of the persistent foul odor they emit. Indoors in
the winter they seem lethargic and rarely fly, but they are certainly capable of
flying. To remove them to outdoors, I coax them onto a piece of cardboard and
gently slip them into a jar before carrying them out.

BTW, if you want to see the families in order Hemiptera, back up one page from
the URL given above, or go to:
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/biodiver...Hemiptera.html