Acanthocephala terminalis

Acanthocephala terminalis is a leaf footed bugs in the family Coreidae. The leaf-footed bugs get their name from the “leaf-like” structure on the hind leg that is reminiscent of a leaf. The bugs are often conspicuous and are well defended by odor glands on the thorax. If disturbed, the bugs are reluctant to drop from the plant or take flight. Typically they will move to the other side of the stem or branch if approached. This can make photographing them challenging.

Acanthocephala terminalis gets its name from the terminal segments of its antennae which are distinctly orange. The tips of its six legs are all a matching orange. I took this picture on the shores of Lake Michigan, just north of Benton Harbor, Michigan. Roland Fountain Hussey, wrote the 1922 book, Hemiptera from Berrien County, Michigan which describes Hemiptera in the unique Dunes area along the shores of Lake Michigan, a site only a few miles South of the location where this picture was taken. Acanthocephala terminalis is common in much of the eastern United States and Hussey found large numbers of them on ash trees. At the time, the immatures were not described. Hussey gives the first description of the larvae in his book.