Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Metacanthus tenellus Stål, 1859

Chinche zancudo, Stilt-legged Bug

Probably phytophagous on plant sap, or predator on soft-bodies insects. Found in arid, humid forest, and agriculture zones; on Datura; March-July.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Hemiptera

Suborder
Heteroptera

Superfamily
Lygaeoidea

Family
Berytidae

Genus
Metacanthus

Species
tenellus

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Metacanthus galapagensis Barber, 1934; Syn.: Metacanthus galapagensis, Jalysus (Metacanthus) tenellus

Origin: Native

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Floreana, Santa Cruz, San Cristobal

References

  • Froeschner, R.C. (1985) Synopsis of the Heteroptera or True Bugs of the Galápagos Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 407: 1-84.
  • Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Metacanthus tenellus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11213. Accessed 11 May 2026.