Anthocoridae

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Minute pirate bugs
Orius insidiosus from USDA 2.jpg
Orius insidiosus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Superfamily: Cimicoidea
Family: Anthocoridae
Tribes

see text

Amphiareus obscuriceps Amphiareus obscuriceps P1310618a.jpg
Amphiareus obscuriceps

Anthocoridae is a family of bugs, commonly called minute pirate bugs or flower bugs. Worldwide there are 500-600 species. [1]

Contents

Description

Anthocoridae are 1.5–5 mm long and have soft, elongated oval, flat bodies, often patterned in black and white. The head is extended forward and the antennae are longer than the head and visible from above. They possess a piercing and sucking three-segmented beak or labium used to inject prey with digestive enzymes and consume food. In general appearance, they resemble common plant bugs (Miridae), but Anthocoridae differ by their possession of two ocelli as adults. Anthocorids possess two pairs of wings with hemelytra and membranous hindwings. [2] [3]

Many species are referred to as insidious flower bugs or pirate bugs. [4] The scientific name is a combination of the Greek words anthos "flower" and koris "bug".

Habitat and behaviour

Many species can be found in cryptic habitats such as galls, but can also be present in open surface environments. They can often be found in many agricultural crops. [5] They can feed on plant material, but mostly feed on other small soft-bodied arthropods. [1] Anthocorids are often predacious both as nymphs and adults. [2] They are beneficial as biological control agents. Orius insidiosus , the "insidious flower bug", for example, feeds on the eggs of the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea). Orius insidiosus is often released in greenhouses against mites and thrips. [6]

Eggs are laid in plant material and hatch in approximately 3 to 5 days. Nymphs require at least 20 days to progress through five instars. Adults live for approximately 35 days. [7] These small insects can bite humans, however, they do not feed on human blood or inject venom or saliva. Reactions to bites in individuals can range from no effect to minor swelling and irritation. [5]

Systematics

There are two subfamilies and at least 8 tribes: [8]

Anthocorinae

Auth. Fieber, 1837

tribe Almeidini Carayon, 1972
  1. Almeida Distant, 1910
  2. Australmeida Woodward, 1977
  3. Lippomanus Distant, 1904
tribe Anthocorini Fieber, 1837

Selected genera:

tribe Blaptopstethini Carayon, 1972
  1. Blaptostethoides Carayon, 1972
  2. Blaptostethus Fieber, 1860
tribe Cardiastethini Carayon, 1972

Selected genera:

tribe Oriini Carayon, 1955

Selected genera:

tribe Scolopini Carayon, 1954

Selected genera:

tribe Xylocorini Carayon, 1972 (monotypic)
  1. Xylocoris Dufour, 1831
incertae sedis
  1. Cyrtosternum Fieber, 1860

Lasiochilinae

Auth. Carayon, 1972 (sometimes placed at family level: "Lasiochilidae")

  1. Lasiochilus Reuter, 1871
  2. Plochiocoris Champion, 1900

Unplaced genera

  1. Lilia White, 1879
  2. Opisthypselus Reuter, 1908

Data sources: i = ITIS, [9] c = Catalogue of Life, [10] g = GBIF, [11] b = Bugguide.net [12] [2] [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cimicomorpha</span> Order of true bugs

The Cimicomorpha are an infraorder of insects in the order Hemiptera, the true bugs. The rostrum and other morphology of all members apparently is adapted to feeding on animals as their prey or hosts. Members include bed bugs, bat bugs, assassin bugs, and pirate bugs.

<i>Orius</i> Genus of true bugs

The genus Orius consists of omnivorous bugs in the family Anthocoridae. Adults are 2–5 mm long and feed mostly on smaller insects, larva and eggs, such as spider mites, thrips, jumping plant lice, and white fly, but will also feed on pollen and vascular sap.

<i>Orius insidiosus</i> Species of true bug

Orius insidiosus, common name the insidious flower bug, is a species of minute pirate bug, a predatory insect in the order Hemiptera. They are considered beneficial, as they feed on small pest arthropods and their eggs. They are mass-reared for use in the biological control of thrips.

<i>Anthocoris</i> Genus of true bugs

Anthocoris is a genus of minute pirate bugs in the family Anthocoridae. There are at least 30 described species in Anthocoris.

<i>Orius niger</i> Species of true bug

Orius niger is a true bug. The species is found in the Palearctic from Europe east to Siberia and across Central Asia to China and India. It is widespread in Central Europe mostly in the south. In the Alps it is found up 1600 meters above sea level.

<i>Anthocoris gallarumulmi</i> Species of true bug

Anthocoris gallarumulmi is a true bug in the family Anthocoridae. The species is a West Palearctic species found on aphid-galled leaves of Ulmus minor and is a predator of the aphid Eriosoma ulmi It is also associated with aphid-leaf galls of Fraxinus excelsior, Ribes, Prunus spinosa and Crataegus monogyna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthocorini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Anthocorini is a tribe of minute pirate bugs in the family Anthocoridae. There are more than 30 described species in Anthocorini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halticini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Halticini is a tribe of plant bugs in the family Miridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eccritotarsini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Eccritotarsini is a tribe of plant bugs in the family Miridae. There are about 14 genera and at least 40 described species in Eccritotarsini.

<i>Scoloposcelis</i> Genus of true bugs

Scoloposcelis is a genus of minute pirate bugs in the family Lyctocoridae. There are about seven described species in Scoloposcelis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scolopini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Scolopini is a tribe of bugs in the family Lyctocoridae. There are at least 4 genera and about 10 described species in Scolopini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudophloeinae</span> Subfamily of true bugs

Pseudophloeinae is a subfamily of leaf-footed bugs in the family Coreidae. There are at least 100 described species in Pseudophloeinae, distributed worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dufouriellini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Dufouriellini is a tribe of minute pirate bugs in the family Lyctocoridae. There are about 7 genera and 15 described species in Dufouriellini.

Orius tristicolor, known generally as the minute flower bug or minute pirate bug, is a species of minute pirate bug in the family Anthocoridae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, Central America, North America, Oceania, and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriini</span> Tribe of true bugs

Oriini is a tribe of minute pirate bugs in the family Anthocoridae. There are about 6 genera and more than 60 described species in Oriini.

<i>Buchananiella</i> Genus of true bugs

Buchananiella is a genus of minute pirate bugs in the family Lyctocoridae. There are at least three described species in Buchananiella.

<i>Dufouriellus</i> Genus of true bugs

Dufouriellus is a monotypic genus of minute pirate bugs now placed in the tribe Anthocorini. The described species is Dufouriellus ater, which has been recorded from much of western Europe through to Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, southern Scandinavia and including the British Isles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyctocoridae</span> Family of true bugs

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, being cosmopolitan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lasiochilinae</span> Family of true bugs

Lasiochilinae is a subfamily of bugs, in the family Anthocoridae; some authorities place this at family level: "Lasiochilidae". It is most diverse in tropical areas, especially in the New World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiastethini</span> Tribe of true bugs

The Cardiastethini are a tribe of flower bugs, erected by Carayon in 1972 and based on the type genus Cardiastethus.

References

  1. 1 2 Lattin, J.D. (1999). "Bionomics of the Anthocoridae". Annual Review of Entomology. 44: 207–31. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.44.1.207. PMID   15012372.
  2. 1 2 3 Horton, D.R. (2008). "Minute Pirate Bugs (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae)". In Capinera, J.L. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Entomology . pp.  2402–2412. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_4633. ISBN   978-1-4020-6242-1.
  3. ↑ E. Wachmann, A. Melber & J. Deckert: Wanzen. Band 1: Dipsocoromorpha, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Cimicomorpha (Teil I), Neubearbeitung der Wanzen Deutschlands, Österreichs und der deutschsprachigen Schweiz, Goecke & Evers Keltern, 2006, ISBN   3-931374-49-1
  4. ↑ "Minute Pirate Bugs". Iowa Insect Information Notes. Iowa State University. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Minute Pirate Bugs – Little Bug with a Big Bite". University of Illinois Extension. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Midwest Biological Control News". Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Back to Predators Table of Contents Orius tristicolor and O. insidiosus". Cornell University. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  8. ↑ BioLib.cz: flower bugs - Anthocoridae Fieber, 1837 (retrieved 8 April 2022)
  9. ↑ "Anthocoridae Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  10. ↑ "Browse Anthocoridae". Catalogue of Life. Archived from the original on 2019-11-15. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  11. ↑ "Anthocoridae". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  12. ↑ "Anthocoridae Family Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  13. ↑ Péricart, J. 1996. Family Anthocoridae Fieber, 1836 flower bugs, minute pirate bugs, pp. 108–318. In Aukema, B. and C. Rieger, eds. Catalogue of the Heteroptera of the Palaearctic Region. Vol. 2. Cimicomorpha I. Netherlands Entomological Society, Amsterdam. 359 pp.
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