By Eric Stann
Sept. 10, 2026
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu
Photo by Mizzou Visual Productions
An entomologist at the University of Missouri has discovered two saucer bug species previously unknown to science, adding to our understanding of Earth’s biodiversity.
For nearly four decades, Robert Sites, director of Mizzou’s Enns Entomology Museum and professor emeritus of entomology in Mizzou’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, has traveled the world collecting specimens and describing more than 100 species of saucer bugs. Each discovery offers new clues about how freshwater ecosystems have evolved, even in some of the world’s most remote habitats.
“Some species may only exist within a single watershed, making every stream, pond or river a potential home to life found nowhere else on Earth,” Sites said.
Discovering a new saucer bug species is no simple task. Identifying one requires years of experience in taxonomy, the science of classifying and naming living organisms.
To add to the challenge, the more than 400 known saucer bug species are notoriously difficult to distinguish from one another, as most share the same small, oval-shaped body no larger than a human fingernail. Instead, researchers must examine microscopic anatomical features invisible to the naked eye. By studying those subtle differences, Sites determined that these bugs had never been described before.
The first species, Ctenipocoris sagittatus — collected in Guyana and Venezuela — is distinguishable by its yellow markings and an arrow-shaped reproductive structure that sets it apart from its closest relatives.
The second species, Ctenipocoris reticulatus, is from India and features a network-like pattern on its wings.
Even after decades of discoveries, Sites said there is still much left to learn about nature.
“Nature is vast,” Sites said. “Even when we get close to understanding one group, there will always be more to discover.”
The study, “The saucer bug genus Ctenipocoris Montandon, 1897 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Naucoridae): new species from Guyana and India and catalog of world species,” was published in the journal Zootaxa.
