| Alydus eurinus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Alydidae |
| Genus: | Alydus |
| Species: | A. eurinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Alydus eurinus (Say, 1825) | |
Alydus eurinus is a species of broad-headed bug in the family Alydidae. It is found in North America. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Alydus eurinus is mostly dark in color with lighter markings sometimes observed on the legs and abdomen. However, coloring on the side of the head is absent. Fine hairs cover the body. The corners of the posterior pronotum plate are rounded, while in a similar species, Alydus pilosulus, the corners are more angular. [5] Their wings are dark in color and possess many longitudinal veins, which distinguish them from the morphologically similar family, Lygaeidae. [6]
Alydus uses ridges, or stridulitrum, on the forewing and nodes, or plectrum, on the femur to produce stridulation. These structures are present on both sexes. The stridulitrum consists of a series of equidistant ridges which are the longest at the midsection of the corium. The plectrum consists of nodes found on the legs which are a project of bone or stiff tissue which are along and across the femur. The sound which is produced is theorized to be of low intensity due to the small size of the plectrum's nodes and to be an assortment of notes rather than one. [7]
Alydus eurinus feeds mostly on legumes but can be found on flowering plants, such as goldenrod, later in the season. [6]
The primary defense is mimicry. As nymphs, they resemble flightless ants. As adults, they resemble spider wasps. [8] [6] Unlike ants and wasps, Alydus eurinus has mouthparts typical of the Hemipteran, in which the mandibles and maxillae have been modified to form a stomatostyle.
They also have a secondary chemical defense. The defensive chemical mix of butyric and hexanoic acids is released from their metathoracic scent glands. [8] Nymphs and adults possess defensive chemicals, but the Nymph's chemical mix is much weaker than the chemicals the adults produce. [6]
These two subspecies belong to the species Alydus eurinus:
Stridulation is the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts. This behavior is mostly associated with insects, but other animals are known to do this as well, such as a number of species of fish, snakes and spiders. The mechanism is typically that of one structure with a well-defined lip, ridge, or nodules being moved across a finely-ridged surface or vice versa, and vibrating as it does so, like the dragging of a phonograph needle across a vinyl record. Sometimes it is the structure bearing the file which resonates to produce the sound, but in other cases it is the structure bearing the scraper, with both variants possible in related groups. Common onomatopoeic words for the sounds produced by stridulation include chirp and chirrup.
The Pentatomoidea are a superfamily of insects in the suborder Heteroptera of the order Hemiptera. As hemipterans, they possess a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The roughly 7000 species under Pentatomoidea are divided into 21 families. Among these are the stink bugs and shield bugs, jewel bugs, giant shield bugs, and burrower bugs.
The Reduviidae is a large cosmopolitan family of the suborder Heteroptera of the order Hemiptera. Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush predators; most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic. The main examples of nonpredatory Reduviidae are some blood-sucking ectoparasites in the subfamily Triatominae. Though spectacular exceptions are known, most members of the family are fairly easily recognizable; they have a relatively narrow neck, sturdy build, and a formidable curved proboscis. Large specimens should be handled with caution, if at all, because they sometimes defend themselves with a very painful stab from the proboscis.
Coreidae is a large family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus Coreus, which derives from the Ancient Greek κόρις (kóris) meaning bedbug.
Scutelleridae is a family of true bugs. They are commonly known as jewel bugs or metallic shield bugs due to their often brilliant coloration. They are also known as shield-backed bugs due to the enlargement of the thoracic scutellum into a continuous shield over the abdomen and wings. This latter characteristic distinguishes them from most other families within Heteroptera, and may lead to misidentification as a beetle rather than a bug. These insects feed on plant juices from a variety of different species, including some commercial crops. Closely related to stink bugs, they may also produce an offensive odour when disturbed. There are around 450 species worldwide.
Treehoppers and thorn bugs are members of the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species of treehoppers in over 400 genera are known. They are found on all continents except Antarctica; only five species are known from Europe. Individual treehoppers usually live for only a few months.
This glossary of entomology describes terms used in the formal study of insect species by entomologists.
Eurybrachidae is a small family of planthoppers with species occurring in parts of Asia, Australia and Africa. They are remarkable for the sophistication of their automimicry.
Alydidae, commonly known as broad-headed bugs, is a family of true bugs very similar to the closely related Coreidae. There are at least 60 genera and 300 species altogether. Distributed in the temperate and warmer regions of the Earth, most are tropical and subtropical animals; for example Europe has a mere 10 species, and only 2 of these occur outside the Mediterranean region.
Insects have mouthparts that may vary greatly across insect species, as they are adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Most specialisation of mouthparts are for piercing and sucking, and this mode of feeding has evolved a number of times independently. For example, mosquitoes and aphids both pierce and suck, though female mosquitoes feed on animal blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids.
Coreus marginatus is a herbivorous species of true bug in the family Coreidae. It is commonly known as the dock bug as it feeds on the leaves and seeds of docks and sorrels. It is a medium-sized speckled brown insect, between 13 and 15 mm long as an adult, with a broad abdomen. It occurs throughout Europe, Asia and northern Africa. It is often found in dense vegetation, such as hedgerows and wasteland.
Physomerus grossipes, the sweetpotato bug or large spine-footed bug, is a species of Hemiptera in the family Coreidae. Native to Southeast Asia, the species has immigrated to the Pacific Islands. Frequently laying its eggs on the same Leguminosae and Convolvulaceae plants on which it feeds, the females of P. grossipes are very protective of their young, notably guarding both eggs and nymphs from predators.
Calliphara nobilis is a species of jewel bug found in Asia. Like all species of jewel bugs, it is phytophagous, feeding on the leaves, fruit and seeds of its host plants. This insect is notable for its multiple defense mechanisms: it is highly mobile and swarms disperse with a loud buzz when disturbed; it is aposematically colored, which serves as a warning to any would-be predators that it is unpalatable; and it possesses a robust chemical defense mechanism: it can secrete an irritating and toxic fluid from a pair of metathoracic scent glands when threatened.
Tessaratomidae is a family of true bugs. It contains about 240 species of large bugs divided into 3 subfamilies and 56 genera.
Alydus calcaratus is a bug species with a Holarctic distribution ranging from the British Isles almost all over Europe to eastern Siberia and China. Moreover, the species also in northern North America from Alaska and Québec across the United States to Wyoming. It is the only species in the family in northern Central Europe outside of the Alps.
Musgraveia sulciventris is a large stink bug found in Australia, sometimes known as the bronze orange bug. It is considered a pest, particularly to plants in the citrus group. Bronze orange bugs suck the sap from trees, which causes the flowers and fruit to fall.
Coridius janus, sometimes known as the red pumpkin bug, is a species of bug in the family Dinidoridae. It feeds by sucking on the sap on soft parts of plants especially in the cucurbit family and causes damage to crops.
Alydus is the type genus of broad-headed bugs in the family Alydidae. There are about 11 described species in Alydus, including 2 extinct species. Species are recorded from North America and Europe through to temperate Asia.
Cimex hemipterus, known as the tropical bed bug, is a species of bed bugs within the family Cimicidae that primarily resides in tropical climates. However, it has been reported that this species can live in more temperate climates along with the closely related bed bug species C. lectularius.C. hemipterus is a hematophagous, obligate parasite of humans. This means that it requires blood meals from their human hosts in order to survive. When bitten, humans experience itchiness, wheals, and lesions around the affected areas on the skin. This species typically resides in human domiciles within cracks, crevices, or mattresses, and are more prevalent in developing countries. Like other bed bugs, C. hemipterus is primarily active during the night time.
Rhynocoris longifrons is a species of assassin bug in the family Reduviidae. It is a predator of other insects and is found in Asia. Crops on which it is found feeding on pests include pigeon pea, cardamom and peanuts. The insects are potentially useful in biological control because they are more resistant to pesticides than are the pests they consume.
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