Coreidae is a large

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the

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

n suborder

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus '' Coreus'', which derives from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

() meaning

bedbug Bed bugs are parasitic insects from the genus ''Cimex'', which are micropredators that feed on blood, usually at night. Their bites can result in a number of health impacts, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptom ...

. As a family, the Coreidae are

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

, but most of the species are

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

Common names and significance

The common names of the Coreidae vary regionally. Leaf-footed bug refers to leaf-like expansions on the legs of some species, generally on the hind tibiae. In North America, the pest status of species such as '' Anasa tristis'' on squash plants and other

cucurbits The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

gave rise to the name squash bugs. The Coreidae are called twig-wilters or tip-wilters in parts of Africa and Australia because many species feed on young twigs, injecting enzymes that macerate the tissues of the growing tips and cause them to wilt abruptly.

Morphology and appearance

The Coreidae commonly are oval-shaped, with antennae composed of four segments, numerous veins in the membrane of the fore wings, and externally visible repugnatorial stink glands. They vary in size from 7 to 45 mm long, which implies that the family includes some of the biggest species of

. The body shape is quite variable; some species are broadly oval, others are elongated with parallel sides, and a few are slender. Many species with the "leaf-footed" tibiae are very slender with conspicuous expansions of the hind tibiae, but some robust species also have decided expansions. Some species are covered with spines and tubercles. As an example of these, the

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

Phyllomorphini Mulsant & Rey, 1870, are strikingly aberrant, with thin legs, spiny bristles, and laciniate outlines and adornments. Many of the more robust species have grossly enlarged, thickened, and bowed hind femora armed with spikes on the inner edge, and with hind tibiae to match, though the enlargement of the tibiae is less exaggerated. In the

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, the openings of the two repugnatorial stink glands of the Coreidae are visible as two projections or spots on the medial line of the dorsal surface of the abdomen, one at the anterior and one at the posterior edge of the fifth abdominal tergite above the glands inside. During the final

ecdysis Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticle in many invertebrates of the clade Ecdysozoa. Since the cuticle of these animals typically forms a largely inelastic exoskeleton, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The remnant ...

, the anatomy is rearranged and the glands end up in the metathorax, opening laterally through

ostiole An ''ostiole'' is a small hole or opening through which algae or fungi release their mature spores. The word is a diminutive of wikt:ostium, "ostium", "opening". The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the ...

s between the mesothoracic and metathoracic

pleura The pleurae (: pleura) are the two flattened closed sacs filled with pleural fluid, each ensheathing each lung and lining their surrounding tissues, locally appearing as two opposing layers of serous membrane separating the lungs from the med ...

Biology and habits

The Coreidae generally feed on the sap of plants. Some species reportedly are actively carnivorous,Comstock, J. H. An Introduction to Entomology, Comstock Publishing. 1949. May be downloaded from

/ref> but material evidence is lacking, and in the field, some are easy to confuse with some species of the

Reduviidae The Reduviidae is a large Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family of the suborder Heteroptera of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera (true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush ...

, so doubt has been cast on the veracity of the claims. Some Coreidae, such as '' Phyllomorpha laciniata'', exhibit parental care by carrying their eggs. This behaviour significantly improves the eggs' chances of avoiding the attacks of

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Coreidae are placed in the order

and closely related to the families

Alydidae Alydidae, commonly known as broad-headed bugs, is a family (biology), 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 t ...

, Hyocephalidae, Rhopalidae, and Stenocephalidae. Together, these five families form the superfamily Coreoidea. The family is large, with more than 1,900 species in over 270 genera. Most taxonomists dealing with the Coreidae divide the family into three or four subfamilies. Numerous

s of the Coreinae have previously been proposed for elevation to subfamily rank, for example, the Agriopocorini,

Colpurini The ColpuriniBreddin G (1900) ''Entomologische Nachrichten'' 26: 39. are a tribe of leaf-footed bugs, in the subfamily Coreinae Coreinae is a Subfamily (biology), subfamily in the hemipteran family Coreidae. They have been shown to be paraphy ...

, Phyllomorphini, and Procamptini, but the only one of these changes that at least a significant minority of researchers accepted is the elevation of the Agriopocorinae, and more recent reviews tend to treat them as a tribe again, recognizing only the three subfamilies known by 1867 plus Hydarinae. The family has been demonstrated to be non-

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

, as Hydarinae and Pseudophloeinae are more closely related to Alydidae than to other coreids.

Selected genera

The following genera are included in the family Coreidae:

Coreinae Coreinae is a Subfamily (biology), subfamily in the hemipteran family Coreidae. They have been shown to be paraphyletic with respect to Meropachyinae. Tribes The following Tribe (biology), tribes belong to the Coreinae: #Acanthocephalini St� ...

Leach, 1815 * '' Acanthocephala'' Laporte, 1833 * '' Acanthocerus'' Palisot, 1818 * '' Acanthocoris'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Agathyrna'' Stål, 1861 * '' Althos'' Kirkaldy, 1904 * '' Anasa'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Anisoscelis'' Latreille, 1829 * '' Anoplocnemis'' Stål, 1873 * '' Aurelianus'' Distant, 1902 * '' Brachytes'' Westwood, 1842 * '' Canungrantmictis'' Brailovsky, 2002 * '' Carlisis'' Stål, 1858 * '' Catorhintha'' Stål, 1859 * '' Centrocoris'' Kolenati, 1845 * '' Ceratopachys'' Westwood, 1842 * '' Cercinthus'' Stål, 1860 * '' Chariesterus'' Laporte, 1833 * '' Chelinidea'' Uhler, 1863 * '' Cimolus'' Stål, 1862 * '' Coreus'' Leach, 1815 * '' Dalader'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Elasmopoda'' Stål, 1873 * '' Enoplops'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Eubule'' Stål, 1868 * '' Euthochtha'' Mayr, 1865 * '' Fracastorius'' Distant, 1902 * '' Gelonus'' Stål, 1866 * '' Gonocerus'' Berthold, 1827 * '' Helcomeria'' Stål, 1873 * '' Himella'' Dallas, 1852 * '' Holhymenia'' Lepeletier & Serville, 1825 * '' Homoeocerus'' Burmeister, 1835 * '' Hygia'' Uhler, 1861 * '' Hypselonotus'' Hahn, 1833 * '' Leptoglossus'' Guérin-Méneville, 1831 – conifer seed bugs * '' Mamurius'' Stål, 1862 * '' Menenotus'' Laporte, 1832 * '' Mictis'' Leach, 1814 * '' Molipteryx'' Kiritshenko, 1916 * '' Mozena'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Namacus'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Narnia'' Stål, 1862 * '' Neaira'' Linnavuori, 1973 * '' Nematopus'' Berthold, 1827 * '' Nisoscolopocerus'' Barber, 1928 * '' Oannes'' Distant, 1911 * '' Pachylis'' Le Peletier & Serville, 1825 * '' Phyllomorpha'' Laporte 1833 * '' Physomerus'' Burmeister, 1835 * '' Piezogaster'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Plectropoda'' Bergroth, 1894 * '' Pomponatius'' Distant, 1904 * '' Prionolomia'' Stål, 1873 * '' Pseudotheraptus'' Brown, 1955 * '' Sagotylus'' Mayr, 1865 * ''

Savius ''Savius'' is a genus of leaf-footed bugs in the family Coreidae Coreidae is a large family (biology), family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus ''Coreus' ...

'' Stål, 1862 * '' Scolopocerus'' Uhler, 1875 * '' Sephina'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 * '' Sethenira'' Spinola, 1837 * '' Spartocera'' Laporte, 1833 * '' Spathocera'' Stein, 1860 * '' Syromastus'' Berthold, 1827 * '' Thasus'' Stål, 1865 * '' Vazquezitocoris'' Brailovsky, 1990 * '' Villasitocoris'' Brailovsky, 1990 * '' Wolfius'' Distant, 1902 * '' Zicca'' Amyot & Serville, 1843 Hydarinae Stål, 1873 * ''

Madura is an list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administratively ...

'' Stål, 1860 Meropachyinae Stål, 1867 * '' Merocoris'' Perty, 1833 Pseudophloeinae Stål, 1867 * '' Arenocoris'' Hahn, 1834 * '' Bathysolen'' Fieber, 1860 * '' Bothrostethus'' Fieber 1860 * '' Ceraleptus'' Costa, 1847 * '' Clavigralla'' Spinola, 1837 * '' Coriomeris'' Westwood, 1842 * '' Nemocoris'' Sahlberg, 1848 * '' Ulmicola'' Kirkaldy, 1909

Gallery

File:Leptoscelis quadrisignatus (03442).jpg, '' Leptoscelis quadrisignatus'' File:Squash bug Coreidae hz.jpg, Feeding "twig-wilter" nymph File:Anasa tristis eggs.jpg, '' Anasa tristis'' (squash bug) eggs File:Pephricus Coreidae IMG 3401.JPG, '' Pephricus'' sp., of the tribe Phyllomorphini File:DirkvdM aerobics-insect.jpg, A "leaf-footed" coreid ('' Anisoscelis flavolineata'') with typical expanded hind legs File:Acanthocephala terminalis.JPG, '' Acanthocephala terminalis'' File:Coreidae Unidentified Holopterna IMG 6559s.JPG, Typical pattern of wing venation File:Piezogaster mating.jpg, '' Piezogaster'' sp. mating File:Coreid bugs (Euthochtha galeator) laying eggs.jpg, Laying eggs File:Leaf footed bug pair.webm, Two leaf-footed bugs interact. File:Insect world of motion.webm, Leaf-footed bug climbs wind blown grass and flies off.

References

External links

Coreidae of Britain

Coreidae of Florida

Comparative description of the immature stages of two very similar leaf footed bugs, ''Holymenia clavigera'' (Herbst) and ''Anisoscelis foliacea marginella'' (Dallas) (Hemiptera, Coreidae, Anisoscelini)

{{Authority control Heteroptera families