Pyrrhocoridae

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: Pyrrhocoroidea

Familia: Pyrrhocoridae
Genera (about 65): Antilochus – Armatillus – Australodindymus – Brancucciana – Dindymus – Dysdercus – Ectatops – Euscopus – Froeschnerocoris – Guentheriana – Myrmoplasta – Neodindymus – Paraectatops – Probergrothius – Pyrrhocoris – Roscius – Scantius – Schaeferiana – Stictaulax – Syncrotus
...
References

Blöte, H.C. 1931: Catalogue of the Pyrrhocoridae in 's Rijks Museum van Natuurlijke Historie. Zoologische mededelingen, 14 (8): 97–136. abstract and pdf
Ghahari, H.; Moulet, P. 2013: An annotated catalog of the Iranian Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomomorpha: Pyrrhocoroidea). Zootaxa 3609(3): 335–342. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3609.3.8 Reference page.
Stehlík, J.L.; Jindra, Z. 2006: New species of Largidae and Pyrrhocoridae (Heteroptera) from the Oriental region. Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 46: 31–41. PDF Reference page.
Stehlík, J.L.; Jindra, Z. 2008: New taxa of the Largidae and Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from the Oriental Region. Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, 48 (2): 611–648. Abstract

Links

Australian Faunal Directory
EoL
Pyrrhocoridae Taxon details on Fauna Europaea

Vernacular names
English: Red Bugs
polski: Kowalowate

Pyrrhocoridae is a family of insects with more than 300 species world-wide. Many are red coloured and are known as red bugs and some species are called cotton stainers because their feeding activities leave an indelible yellow-brownish stain on cotton crops. A common species in parts of Europe is the firebug, and its genus name Pyrrhocoris and the family name are derived from the Greek roots for fire "pyrrho-" and bug "coris". Members of this family are often confused with, but can be quickly separated from, Lygaeidae by the lack of ocelli (simple eyes) on the top of the head.

Description

The membrane of the forewing has one or two cells from which about 7-8 branching veins emerge that may have branches that fuse together (anastomose) while the main veins reach the margins of the wing. They have three tarsal segments. They can be very difficult to separate from some members of the family Largidae, which also share some of these characters and belong to the same super family. Largids tend to have the edge of the pronotum (the top of the first thoracic segment) rounded, but the taxonomic feature for separating them is the found only in females. Female largids have the sixth visible (actually the seventh) abdominal segment appearing to be split in the middle, whereas it is undivided in female pyrrhocorids.[1] A few bugs in the family Rhopalidae have similar colors (e.g., Corizus hyoscyami) but they have ocelli, as do lygaeids.

The scutellum is small and triangular. The antennae are made up of four segments, with the second segment longer than the third. The beak-like mouthpart, or rostrum, has four segments, and its tip reaches at least the base of the middle pair of legs. Some species have the wing reduced so that the abdomen is visible from above.[2] More detailed distinguishing features that are usually visible only under a microscope, include a much reduced scent gland opening on the mid-thoracic segment. There are three sensory hairs or trichobothria on the abdominal segments 3 to 6 and two such hairs on the seventh segment.[3]

The genus Myrmoplasta is found in the African and Oriental regions and is somewhat unusual in having highly reduced wings and appearing ant-like or myrmecomorphic. Males and females differ in their foreleg morphology, although such sexual dimorphism is also found in a few other genera.[4]
Food

Most species feed on seeds or fruits particularly of plants belonging to the Malvales but a few feed on rotting debris including dead animal matter. A few species are predatory; Raxa nishidai is a predator of another pyrrhocorid, Melamphaus faber, while Antilochus coquebertii feeds on other bugs including Dysdercus cingulatus.[5] A few are important crop pests. One species, Dysdercus suturellus, is well known in the southern cotton growing regions of the United States while Dysdercus cingulatus occurs on cotton in tropical Asia. They damage cotton bolls by staining as well as by cutting the fibres.[2][6]
Dysdercus cingulatus, India
Dindymus rubiginosus, East Asia
Genera

There are numerous genera within the family and these include:[1][7]

Abulfeda
Aderrhis
Aeschines
Antilochus
Armatillus
Callibaphus
Courtesius
Cenaeus
Delecampius
Dermatinus
Dindymus
Dynamenais
Dysdercus
Ectatops
Euscopus[8]
Froeschnerocoris[9]
Gromierus
Indra
Jourdainana
Leptophthalmus
Melamphaus
Myrmoplasta
Neodindymus
Neoindra
Probergrothius (Odontopus is preoccupied[1])
Pyrrhocoris
Pyrrhopeplus
Raxa
Roscius
Saldoides
Scantius
Schmitziana
Sericocoris
Siango
Sicnatus
Stictaulax
Syncrotus

References

Robertson, I.A.D. (2004). "The Pyrrhocoroidea (Hemiptera – Heteroptera) of the Ethiopian region". J. Insect Sci. 4: 14. doi:10.1093/jis/4.1.14. PMC 528874. PMID 15861230.
Borror, DJ; CA Triplehorn; NF Johnson (1989). An introduction to the study of insects (6 ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. p. 306.
Schuh, RT & JA Slater (1995). True bugs of the World (Hemiptera:Heteroptera). Classification and Natural History. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 268–271.
Stehlik, Jaroslav L. (2007). "On the Afrotropical species of Myrmoplasta (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae)". Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae. 47: 93–108.
Schaefer, Carl W. (1999). "Review of Raxa (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 92 (1): 14–19. doi:10.1093/aesa/92.1.14.
L. Mata; J.M. Grosso-Silva; M. Goula (2013). "Pyrrhocoridae from the Iberian Peninsula (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)" (PDF). Heteropterus Revista de Entomologia. 13 (2): 175–189. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
Hussey, RF. (1929). General catalogue of the Hemiptera. Fascicle III. Pyrrhocoridae. Northampton, Mass.: Smith College.
Schaefer, Carl. W.; Ahmad, Imtiaz (2002). "A review of the Asian genus Euscopus (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae)". Oriental Insects. 36 (1): 211–220. doi:10.1080/00305316.2002.10417331.
Ahmad, Imtiaz; Kamaluddin, Syed (1986). "Froeschnerocoris denticapsulus, a New Genus and New Species of Pyrrhocoridae (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoroidea) from the Oriental Region". Journal of the New York Entomological Society. 94 (2): 291–295.