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Sticker of Western leaf-footed bug
Bug card No. 4686 of 4,939

Western leaf-footed bug

Leptoglossus clypealis
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The western leaf-footed bug is a brown bug with flat, leaf-shaped flaps on its back legs. It also has a pale stripe across its wings. It often sits on juniper bushes.

Lives in
North and Central America, on juniper and in fields
Length
1.8 to 1.9 cm (0.71 to 0.75 in)
Top speed
about 0.25 km/h (0.16 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It sucks plant juice, not blood.
What does it eat?
It sucks juice from plants, and sometimes from crops like pistachio nuts.
For real!Photo of Western leaf-footed bug
Picture by xpda. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Western leaf-footed bug about 1.9 cm long (0.75 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 3 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 14 seconds

How big is Western leaf-footed bug compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The leaf-like flaps on its legs give it its name.

2

Scientists found out that it can leave marks on pistachio nuts while they grow.

3

It is almost 2 centimetres long.

you asked

Most asked questions about Western leaf-footed bug

?Is the leaf-footed bug harmful?

It is harmless to people, but it can damage some crops such as pistachios.

?Why is it called leaf-footed?

Because its back legs have flat flaps that look like little leaves.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Leptoglossus clypealis
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Coreidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Coreidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Leptoglossus clypealis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by xpda. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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