Photo by Radha H S. Mysore, India.
Clustered shoulder-to-shoulder and foot-to-back, these Boisea coimbatorensis valiantly vie for space on garden leaves beneath an old soapberry tree in India. The name 'coimbatorensis' is derived from the city of Coimbatore, a major industrial, commercial, and educational hub in southern India where these insects can be found. B. coimbatorensis are known to feed on the seeds of two species of soapberry (soapnut) trees: Sapindus mukorossi and Sapindus trifoliatus. There are just four species of Boisea, but the genus has a broad geographic distribution with (in addition to the Indian species pictured) another species in Africa and two in North America.