The Lygaeidae are a family in the Hemiptera, with more than 110 genera in four subfamilies. The family is commonly referred to as seed bugs, and less commonly, milkweed bugs, or ground bugs. However, while many of the species feed on seeds, some feed on sap (mucivory) or seed pods, others are omnivores and a few, such as the wekiu bug, are carnivores that feed exclusively on insects. Insects in this family are distributed across the world, including throughout North America. The family was vastly larger, but numerous former subfamilies have been removed and given independent family status, including the Artheneidae, Blissidae, Cryptorhamphidae, Cymidae, Geocoridae, Heterogastridae, Ninidae, Oxycarenidae and Rhyparochromidae, which together constituted well over half of the former family.
The Blissidae are a family in the Hemiptera, comprising nearly 50 genera and 400 species. The group has often been treated as a subfamily of the Lygaeidae but was resurrected as a full family by Thomas Henry (1997).
Graptostethus is a genus in the insect family Lygaeidae. Although originally restricted to the Old World some species like G. servus have spread to parts of the New World.
Melacoryphus lateralis is a species of true bug, one of several called black-and-red seed bug. Black and fringed with red and gray, some call it the charcoal seed bug, due to its resemblance to a dying ember. Native to the deserts of western North America, they have a tendency to appear in large numbers in the late summer.
Arocatus is a genus of bugs in the family Lygaeidae.
Arocatus melanocephalus, the elm seed bug, is a true bug in the family Lygaeidae. The species was initially described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798, and Maximilian Spinola designated it to be the type species of the genus Arocatus in 1837. This bug is native to Europe but has been introduced to North America.
Neacoryphus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are about five described species in Neacoryphus.
Neortholomus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are about nine described species in Neortholomus.
Lygaeospilus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are at least four described species in Lygaeospilus.
Kleidocerys is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are about 17 described species in Kleidocerys.
Oncopeltus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae, which has at least 40 described species.
Melanopleurus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are more than 20 described species in the genus Melanopleurus.
Xyonysius is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are about eight described species in Xyonysius.
Belonochilus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There is one described species in Belonochilus, B. numenius, the sycamore seed bug, making it a monotypic genus.
Ischnorhynchinae is a subfamily of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are about 16 genera and more than 70 described species in Ischnorhynchinae. The members of this subfamily are small, terrestrial insects that typically translucent or transparent plate-like structures covering the thorax (pronota) and tend to live in plant flowers.
Melanocoryphus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are about eight described species in Melanocoryphus.
Melacoryphus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are about 11 described species in Melacoryphus, found in Central and North America.
James Alexander Slater (1920–2008) was an American zoologist and educator who served as Professor of Entomology at the University of Connecticut from 1953 to 1988. An internationally recognized expert in heteroptera who also studied birds and reptiles, Slater served as the Connecticut State Ornithologist and published a monograph on his research into Connecticut's historical headstones.
Anochrostomus is a genus of seed bugs in the family Lygaeidae. There are at least two described species in Anochrostomus.
Melanopleurus pyrrhopterus is a species of seed bug in the family Lygaeidae. It is found in the continental United States, Mexico, and has also been recorded in Canada.
(age 78)