Antilochus coquebertii

With the help of macro photography, we can see the form of many small and beautiful creatures in nature around us very closely. Today I have brought you some macro pictures of a wonderful insect taken with my camera. In these pictures taken by me, the beautiful insect with bright red and black colors that can be seen on the ground or around dry leaves, is scientifically called Antilochus coquebertii. This scientific name is often mistakenly written as coqueberti by people. It is an insect of the true bug species.

​Scientific name and classification:
According to the scientific classification of biology, this particular species of insect has a specific binomial name. The scientist Fabricius was the first to give this species a scientific name in 1803. Its synonyms or synonyms include Lygaeus coquebertii (Fabricius, 1803) and its misspelling Antilochus coqueberti. According to the scientific classification, they belong to the Arthropoda phylum of the Animalia kingdom. They are members of the order Hemiptera of the class Insecta. They are also included in the family Pyrrhocoridae under the suborder Heteroptera and their genus or genus name is Antilochus.

Physical structure and identification:
If you look at the macro pictures I took, its physical structure can be understood very clearly. These insects are very brightly colored, usually with a great mix of red and black colors all over their body. They are often mistaken for insects of the Lygaeidae family. However, they do not have any ocelli or simple eyes on their head, through which they can be easily distinguished from insects of the Lygaeidae family. In addition, they can also be confused with insects of the genus Dysdercus. But these insects do not have any white spots or white stripes on their bodies, which can be easily identified from other insects.

Habitat and distribution:
In terms of geographical distribution, it is mainly a significant species of the Old World. On the world map, this beautiful insect is widely seen in the nature of the countries of South and Southeast Asia.

Diet and agricultural benefits:
Although they look very beautiful and peaceful in nature, they play an important role as beneficial predators in agriculture or in maintaining the balance of the environment. They mainly hunt and eat other small insects of the Pyrrhocoridae family. They especially like to hunt insects of the Dysdercus genus the most. These Dysdercus insects are mainly known as crop pests that are very harmful to agricultural crops. Therefore, by eating them, these insects indirectly benefit farmers greatly. Another surprising feature of their diet is that they are cannibalistic in nature, that is, they are often cannibalistic and eat insects of their own species.

​Conclusion:
Macro photography not only brings the beauty of nature to our eyes, but also helps us learn about the many important and beneficial insects associated with the ecosystem around us. It is very important for our environment to recognize and conserve such beneficial insects around our farmlands. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and information about this beautiful insect in bright red and black.

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

_{​*(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.) *}
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Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	Lightroom
Photography	(Antilochus coquebertii)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Natore, Bangladesh