Serinethinae is a subfamily of 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 family Rhopalidae, sometimes known as soapberry bugs.
2007 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, December 9–12, 2007. They are brightly colored seed-eaters, comprising three

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and about sixty-five

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. These bugs are specialists on plants in the soapberry family (

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1,858 accepted species. Examples include Aesculus, horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The ...

), which includes

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

s, balloon vines, and soapberry trees, among others. Seeds of the plants are the main resource used by adults for reproduction and

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 ...

for growth and development. Their diversity is the result of an adaptive radiation on these plants, who have co-evolved defenses such as having their seeds contain

cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...

, fly out, or be contained in hollow chambers.

Genera

The

Coreoidea Coreoidea is a superfamily of true bugs in the infraorder Pentatomomorpha which includes leaf-footed bugs and allies. There are more than 3,300 described species in Coreoidea. There are five extant families presently recognized, but the Coreoi ...

Species FileCoreoidea Species File
(Version 5.0/5.0; retrieved 10 January 2024) includes: # '' Boisea'' Kirkaldy, 1910 # '' Jadera'' Stål, 1862 # '' Leptocoris'' Hahn, 1833 '' Leptocoris'', the largest genus, includes more than 40 species, found in

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Several species of ''Leptocoris'' are known as soapberry bugs in Australia, notably ''Leptocoris mitellatus''. The New World genus '' Jadera'' consists of nearly 20 species that range naturally from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

to southern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. '' Jadera haematoloma'' is a soapberry bug found in Florida known for its rapid adaptive

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

following the introduction of a non-native soapberry plant.
Rapid evolution in Florida Soapberry Bugs: Genetic architecture of adaptive differentiation in evolving host races of the soapberry bug, ''Jadera haematoloma'', Scott P. Carroll, Hugh Dingle, Thomas R. Famula & Charles W. Fox, Genetica 112–113: 257–272, 2001 '' Boisea'' consists of four species, one in Africa, one in India, and two in North America, including the well-known

box elder ''Acer negundo'', also known as the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America from Canada to Honduras. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, ash-like compound l ...

bug, '' Boisea trivittata''.

References

External links

Online guide to soapberry bugs
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7454851 Rhopalidae