Lyctocoridae is a reconstituted family of
bugs, formerly classified within the minute pirate bugs of the family
Anthocoridae.
It is widely distributed, with one species (''
Lyctocoris campestris''), being
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 ...
.
Description
Lyctocoridae range in length from 2 mm to 6 mm. They have tarsi 3-segmented, forewing with a costal fracture and with weakly developed veins in the membrane, laterotergites on all abdominal
terga, and male genitalia strongly asymmetrical (left paramere larger than the right).
Overall they resemble the related family Anthocoridae, but can be distinguished by:
* In males, the left paramere is flat, with a single-sheet form, and without a median sulcus. The phallus is tubular and well visible, with ductus seminis striated transversely and extended apically by a needle-shaped acus.
* In females, there are genital apophyses in the anterior region of abdominal sternum 7.
Diet
Lyctocoridae are mostly
predators of small, soft-bodied arthropods, though ''L. campestris'' occasionally feeds on mammal (including human) blood
and ''L. ichikawai'' is only known to feed on sap of sawtooth oak (''
Quercus acutissima
''Quercus acutissima'', the sawtooth oak, is an Asian species of oak native to China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Siberia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Indochina (Vietnam, Thailand, ...
''). Adults and nymphs have similar diets.
Habitat
This family of bugs occurs under tree bark and in decaying plant matter, animal nests and burrows,
manure
Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nut ...
piles, poultry houses,
granaries and stored food products.
Reproduction
Lyctocoridae practice
traumatic insemination in which the male pierces the female (using the acus of his phallus) between terga 7 and 8 on the right side of her abdomen. The male's sperm migrate through the haemocoel or through specialized structures in the female to the
ovaries
The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are endocr ...
, then fertilise the eggs within the vitellarium.
Biological control
Some species of Lyctocoridae are
biological control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...
agents that feed on pest insects. ''Lyctocoris'' attack beetle and moth pests in stored food products, and also attack
bark beetle
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although th ...
pests.
Systematics
Recent phylogenetic work supports the treatment of Lyctocoridae as a family separate from
Anthocoridae,
[ but more recent molecular phylogenies indicate that many lineages considered at one point to be constituents are still better placed in Anthocoridae (e.g, Dufouriellini;][Zhang D, Xu L, Wang S, Liang J, Li M, Zhang H. The first complete mitochondrial genome of Dufouriellini (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and implications for its phylogenetic position. Arch Insect Biochem Physiol. 2022 Sep;111(1):e21885. doi: 10.1002/arch.21885. Epub 2022 Mar 20. PMID: 35312097.]), leaving only a few genera in Lyctocoridae.
Genera
''BioLib'' lists a single subfamily Lyctocorinae Reuter, 1884:
# '' Lyctocoris'' Hahn, 1836 (in monotypic tribe Lyctocorini Reuter, 1884)
# '' Astemmocoris'' Carayon & Usinger, 1965
Placed in Anthocoridae
The following are placed in the Anthocorinae tribes Anthocorini
Anthocorini is a tribe of minute pirate bugs in the family Anthocoridae. There are more than 30 described species in Anthocorini.
Genera
''BioLib'' includes the following in tribe Anthocorini:
# ''Acompocoris'' Reuter, 1875
# ''Anthocoris'' Fal ...
, Dufouriellini, and Scolopini:
* '' Alofa'' Herring, 1976
* '' Amphiareus'' Distant, 1904
* '' Brachysteles'' Mulsant & Rey, 1852
* '' Buchananiella'' Reuter, 1884
* '' Calliodis'' Reuter, 1871
* '' Cardiastethus'' Fieber, 1860
* '' Dufouriellus'' Kirkaldy, 1906
* '' Dysepicritus'' Reuter, 1885
* '' Nidicola'' Harris and Drake, 1941
* '' Orthosoleniopsis'' Poppius, 1909
* '' Physopleurella'' Reuter, 1884
* '' Scoloposcelis'' Fieber, 1864
* '' Solenonotus'' Reuter, 1871
* '' Xylocoridea'' Reuter, 1876
* '' Xyloecocoris'' Reuter, 1879
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q55027474
Cimicomorpha
Heteroptera families