Acanthocephala femorata
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The Florida leaf-footed bug (Acanthocephala femorata) is a species of insect. The genus name Acanthocephala means "spiny head" and comes from the pointed tylus at the tip of the head. Acanthocephala femorata is found in the continental United States and Mexico.
This insect is considered a pest, eating and causing damage to citrus and roses. The lower rear legs are wider than the upper legs, with serrations. This is especially pronounced in the male. It has long, slim, curving antennae with distinctive orange tips. The body is reddish brown to nearly black.
They have a number of predators and therefore biological control is generally enough to prevent their populations from going out of control. Many do not make it past the larval stage; parasitic flies often lay their eggs within the developing larvae, paralyzing them. They are also eaten by birds and assassin bugs. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Leaf-Footed Bug sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 74 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 60th most-seen of the 496 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Leaf-Footed Bug in Everglades National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April to January, the lowest months. Those are among Everglades National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against 240 mm in June.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Florida Leaf-Footed Bug sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Florida Leaf-Footed Bug sightings, Everglades National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 10%) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Coreidae
The closest relatives of the Florida Leaf-Footed Bug that you can see in Everglades National Park (family Coreidae, Leaf-footed Bugs) are Eastern Leaf-Footed Bug (about 10%) and Helmeted Squash Bug (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Florida Leaf-Footed Bug is recorded against all the insects logged in Everglades National Park (74 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
