<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysdercus_cingulatus" class="extiw" title="w:Dysdercus cingulatus">Red Cotton Bug</a> is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemiptera" class="extiw" title="en:Hemiptera">true bug</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhocoridae" class="extiw" title="w:Pyrrhocoridae">Pyrrhocoridae</a> family. They generally mate in April and May. Their diet consists primarily of seeds from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvaceae" class="extiw" title="en:Malvaceae">mallows</a>. They can be seen in tandem formation when mating which can take from 12 hours up to 7 days. The long period of copulating is probably used by the males as a form of ejaculate-guarding under high competition with other males.
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<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jkadavoor" title="User:Jkadavoor">Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India</a></div>
CC BY-SA 4.0
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>