Alydidae, commonly known as broad-headed bugs, is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

true bug Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to arou ...

s very similar to the closely related

Coreidae Coreidae is a large family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus ''Coreus'', which derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning bedbug. As a family, the Coreidae ...

(leaf-footed bugs and relatives). There are at least 60

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

and 300

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

altogether. Distributed in the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

and warmer regions of the Earth, most are

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and subtropical animals; for example

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

has a mere 10 species, and only 2 of these occur outside the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

region.

Names

Broad-headed bugs are known as knobe in the Meto and Funai

Helong Helong (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 화룡; Hangul: 허룽) is a county-level city in southeastern Jilin province, Northeast China. It is under the administration of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Administrative divisions Helong has three subd ...

languages of

West Timor West Timor ( id, Timor Barat) is an area covering the western part of the island of Timor, except for the district of Oecussi-Ambeno (an East Timorese exclave). Administratively, West Timor is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The c ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Description

Broad-headed bugs are up to 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 The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum ( dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron ( lateral) o ...

and the scutellum, and that the last

antennal Antennae ( antenna), sometimes referred to as "feelers", are paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. Antennae are connected to the first one or two segments of the arthropod head. They vary widely in form but are always made of one o ...

segments are elongated and curved. The

compound eye A compound eye is a visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans. It may consist of thousands of ommatidia, which are tiny independent photoreception units that consist of a cornea, lens, and photoreceptor cells which dis ...

s are globular and protruding, and they also have

ocelli A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-le ...

. The

femora The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...

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 The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...

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

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

s of these animals' noxiousness: They frequently have scent glands that produce a stink considered to be worse than that of true stink bugs (

Pentatomidae Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species.Robert ...

). The stink is said to smell similar to a bad case of

halitosis Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is a symptom in which a noticeably unpleasant breath odour is present. It can result in anxiety among those affected. It is also associated with depression and symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder. Th ...

. Sometimes the adults have reduced wings. Both, nymphs and adults of some species, such as '' Dulichius inflatus'' and ''

Hyalymenus ''Hyalymenus'' is a genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae 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 ...

'' spp. are ant mimics and live in ant nests.

Ecology

These bugs mainly inhabit fairly

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

and sandy

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, like seashores,

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat (ecology), habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great B ...

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslan ...

and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s. Their main food is

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s, which they pierce with their

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elonga ...

to drink the nutritious fluids contained within. Some are economically significant

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

s, for example '' Leptocorisa oratoria'' on

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

Systematics

Two major lineages are generally accepted as

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

; a third (the Leptocorisinae) is now placed as a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

Leptocorisini The ''Micrelytrinae''Stål C (1868867 ''Öfvers.K.VetenskAkad.Förh.Stockholm'' 24(7): 542. are a subfamily of bugs in the family Alydidae, based on the type genus ''Micrelytra'' Laporte, 1833. Genera are recorded from the Americas, Europe and ...

of the Micrelytrinae.

Genera

These 60 genera belong to the family Alydidae: * '' Acestra'' Dallas, 1852 * ''

Alydus ''Alydus'' is the type genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae. There are about 11 described species in ''Alydus'', including 2 extinct species. Species are recorded from North America and Europe through to temperate Asia. Species Th ...

'' Fabricius, 1803 * '' Anacestra'' Hsiao, 1964 * '' Apidaurus'' Stål, 1870 * '' Bactrocoris'' Kormilev, 1953 * '' Bactrodosoma'' Stål, 1860 * '' Bactrophya'' Breddin, 1901 * '' Bactrophyamixia'' Brailovsky, 1991 * '' Bloeteocoris'' Ahmad, 1965 * ''

Burtinus ''Burtinus'' is a genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae 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 ge ...

'' Stål, 1859 * '' Calamocoris'' Breddin, 1901 * ''

Camptopus ''Camptopus'' is a genus of true bugs belonging to the family Alydidae, subfamily Alydinae Alydinae is a subfamily of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae. There are about 24 genera and more than 140 described species in Alydinae. Gene ...

'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Cosmoleptus'' Stål, 1873 * '' Cydamus'' Stål, 1860 * '' Daclera'' Signoret, 1863 * ''

Darmistus ''Darmistus'' is a genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae 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 ge ...

'' Stål, 1859 * ''

Dulichius ''Dulichius''Stål C (1866 865 ''Hemiptera Africana'' 2:7, 89-90. is a genus of bugs in the family Alydidae and tribe Micrelytrini. It is notable for species which are ant mimics. Species The ''Coreoidea Species File'' lists: * ''Dulichius ...

'' Stål, 1866 * '' Esperanza'' Barber, 1906 * '' Eudarmistus'' Breddin, 1903 * '' Euthetus'' Dallas, 1852 * '' Grypocephalus'' Hsiao, 1963 * '' Hamedius'' Stål, 1860 * '' Heegeria'' Reuter, 1881 * ''

'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Hypselopus'' Burmeister, 1835 * ''

Leptocorisa ''Leptocorisa''Latreille PA (1829) ''Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Déterville, Paris.'' Vol. t.5 (1829): i-xxiv; 1-556. i ...

'' Latreille, 1829 * '' Longicoris'' Ahmad, 1968 * '' Lyrnessus'' Stål, 1862 * '' Marcius'' Stål, 1865 * ''

Megalotomus ''Megalotomus'' is a genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae 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 ...

'' Fieber, 1860 * '' Melanacanthus'' Stål, 1873 * ''

Micrelytra ''Micrelytra fossularum'' is a species of European bugs belonging to the family Alydidae and type genus of the tribe Micrelytrini. It is the only representative of the monotypic genus ''Micrelytra''. Description ''Micrelytra fossularum'' can r ...

'' Laporte, 1833 * '' Mirperus'' Stål, 1860 * '' Mutusca'' Stål, 1866 * '' Nariscus'' Stål, 1866 * ''

Nemausus Deus Nemausus is often said to have been the Celtic patron god of Nemausus ( Nîmes). The god does not seem to have been worshipped outside this locality. The city certainly derives its name from Nemausus, which was perhaps the sacred wood in whic ...

'' Stål, 1866 * ''

Neomegalotomus ''Neomegalotomus'' is a genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae 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 ...

'' Schaffner & Schaefer, 1998 * '' Noliphus'' Stål, 1859 * '' Oxycranum'' Bergroth, 1910 * '' Paramarcius'' Hsiao, 1964 * '' Paraplesius'' Scott, 1874 * '' Planusocoris'' * ''

Protenor ''Protenor'' is a genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae 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 ge ...

'' Stål, 1867 * '' Rimadarmistus'' Bliven, 1956 * '' Riptortus'' Stål, 1860 * '' Robustocephalus'' Ahmad, Abbas, Shadab & Khan, 1979 * ''

Slateria ''Slateria''Ahmad (1965) ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology Supplement'' 5:138-140, figs 1-7. is a monotypic genus of bugs, in the subfamily Micrelytrinae and tribe Micrelytrini; it contains the species ''Slateria gran ...

'' Ahmad, 1965 * ''

Stachyocnemus ''Stachyocnemus'' is a genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae 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 ...

'' 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 Alydidae by kadavoor.jpg, Riptortus sp. in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

DulichusInflatus.jpg, '' Dulichius inflatus'', ant mimic

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1640226 Coreoidea Heteroptera families