Alydidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Paraneoptera
Superordo: Condylognatha
Ordo: Hemiptera
Subordo: Heteroptera
Infraordo: Pentatomomorpha
Superfamilia: Coreoidea

Familia: Alydidae
Subfamiliae: Alydinae - Micrelytrinae
Name

Alydidae Amyot & Audinet-Serville, 1843
References

Ghahari, H. et al. 2010: Annotated catalogue of the Iranian broad-headed bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Alydidae<). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, 50(2): 425–436. ISSN: 0374-1036 Abstract.
Schaefer, C.W. & I. Ahmad, 2008: A Revision of Neomegalotomus (Hemiptera: Alydidae<). Neotropical Entomology 37 (1): 30–44. Abstract and full article: DOI: 10.1590/S1519-566X2008000100005.
Yi, W-B. & Bu, W-J. 2015. Contributions to the tribe Leptocorisini, with descriptions of Planusocoris schaeferi gen. & sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Alydidae<). Zootaxa 4040(4): 401–420. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4040.4.1. Preview (PDF) Reference page.

Links

Coreoidea Species File (Version 1.1/4.0)
EoL

Vernacular names
English: Broad-headed bugs
suomi: Okaluteet
polski: Smyczykowate

Alydidae, commonly known as broad-headed bugs, is a family of true bugs very similar to the closely related Coreidae (leaf-footed bugs and relatives). There are at least 60 genera and 300 species altogether. Distributed in the temperate and warmer regions of the Earth, most are tropical and subtropical animals; for example Europe has a mere 10 species, and only 2 of these occur outside the Mediterranean region.[1]

Names

Broad-headed bugs are known as knobe in the Meto and Funai Helong languages of West Timor, Indonesia.[2]
Description

Broad-headed bugs are up to 10–12 millimetres (0.4–0.5 in) long, and have slender bodies. Some have long and very thin legs. The most notable characteristics of the family are that the head is broad, often similar in length and width to the pronotum and the scutellum, and that the last antennal segments are elongated and curved. The compound eyes are globular and protruding, and they also have ocelli. The femora of the hindlegs bear several strong spines; the tarsus has three segments. Most species have well-developed hemelytra (forewings), allowing them to fly well, but in some the hemelytra are vestigial. The membranous part of the hemelytra have several closely spaced long veins.

Alydidae are generally of dusky or blackish coloration. The upperside of the abdomen is usually bright orange-red. this color patch is normally not visible as it is covered by the wings; it can be exposed, perhaps to warn would-be predators of these animals' noxiousness: They frequently have scent glands that produce a stink considered to be worse than that of true stink bugs (Pentatomidae). The stink is said to smell similar to a bad case of halitosis.

Sometimes the adults have reduced wings. Both, nymphs and adults of some species, such as Dulichius inflatus and Hyalymenus spp. are ant mimics and live in ant nests.[3]
Ecology

These bugs mainly inhabit fairly arid and sandy habitat, like seashores, heathland, steppe and savannas. Their main food is seeds, which they pierce with their proboscis to drink the nutritious fluids contained within. Some are economically significant pests, for example Leptocorisa oratoria on rice.
Systematics

Two major lineages are generally accepted as subfamilies; a third (the Leptocorisinae[4]) is now placed as a tribe Leptocorisini of the Micrelytrinae.[5]
Genera

These 60 genera belong to the family Alydidae:[1][6]

Acestra Dallas, 1852
Alydus Fabricius, 1803
Anacestra Hsiao, 1964
Apidaurus Stål, 1870
Bactrocoris Kormilev, 1953
Bactrodosoma Stål, 1860
Bactrophya Breddin, 1901
Bactrophyamixia Brailovsky, 1991
Bloeteocoris Ahmad, 1965
Burtinus Stål, 1859
Calamocoris Breddin, 1901
Camptopus Amyot & Serville, 1843
Cosmoleptus Stål, 1873
Cydamus Stål, 1860
Daclera Signoret, 1863
Darmistus Stål, 1859
Dulichius Stål, 1866
Esperanza Barber, 1906
Eudarmistus Breddin, 1903
Euthetus Dallas, 1852
Grypocephalus Hsiao, 1963
Hamedius Stål, 1860
Heegeria Reuter, 1881
Hyalymenus Amyot & Serville, 1843
Hypselopus Burmeister, 1835
Leptocorisa Latreille, 1829
Longicoris Ahmad, 1968
Lyrnessus Stål, 1862
Marcius Stål, 1865
Megalotomus Fieber, 1860
Melanacanthus Stål, 1873
Micrelytra Laporte, 1833
Mirperus Stål, 1860
Mutusca Stål, 1866
Nariscus Stål, 1866
Nemausus Stål, 1866
Neomegalotomus Schaffner & Schaefer, 1998
Noliphus Stål, 1859
Oxycranum Bergroth, 1910
Paramarcius Hsiao, 1964
Paraplesius Scott, 1874
Planusocoris
Protenor Stål, 1867
Rimadarmistus Bliven, 1956
Riptortus Stål, 1860
Robustocephalus Ahmad, Abbas, Shadab & Khan, 1979
Slateria Ahmad, 1965
Stachyocnemus Stål, 1870
Stachyolobus Stål, 1871
Stenocoris Burmeister, 1839 (rice bugs)
Tenosius Stål, 1860
Tollius Stål, 1870
Trachelium Herrich-Schäffer, 1850
Tuberculiformia Ahmad, 1967
Tupalus Stål, 1860
Zulubius Bergroth, 1894
† Heeralydus Štys & Riha, 1975
† Orthriocorisa Scudder, 1890
† Sulcalydus Štys & Riha, 1975
† Willershausenia Popov, 2007

Riptortus sp. in Kerala

Dulichius inflatus, ant mimic

References

Webb, Nick; Eades, David C. (2018). "family Alydidae Amyot & Serville, 1843". Coreoidea species file online, Version 5.0. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
LexiRumah 2.2.3, ‘rice ear bug’/‘walang sangit’.
Oliveira PO (1985). "On the mimetic association between nymphs of Hyalymenus spp. (Hemiptera: Alydidae<) and ants". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 83 (4): 371–384. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1985.tb01182.x.
I. Ahmad (1965). "The Leptocorisinae (Heteroptera: Alydidae<) of the world". Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History. 5 (Supplement): 1–156.
Carl W. Schaefer (1999). "The higher classification of the Alydidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 101 (1): 94–98.
"Alydidae". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-05-01.