Berytidae

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Stilt bugs
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Infraorder: Pentatomomorpha
Superfamily: Lygaeoidea
Family: Berytidae
Fieber, 1851
Synonyms [1]
  • Neididae Kirkaldy, 1902
  • Berytinidae Southwood and Leston, 1959

Berytidae is a family of the order Hemiptera ("true bugs"), commonly called stilt bugs [2] or thread bugs. [3] Most berytids are brown to yellow, with species that are plant sap feeders, a few being predaceous. About 200 species are known from all around the world and they are classified into three subfamilies.

Contents

Description

Dorsal view of a typically gracile species in the family Berytidae K9901-1.jpg
Dorsal view of a typically gracile species in the family Berytidae

The Berytidae are extremely gracile insects with legs so long and slender as to suggest common names such as "thread bugs" and "stilt bugs". In this they resemble the Emesinae, with which they are easily confused, though they are in different families. They may be distinguished most readily by the forelegs, that in the Emesinae are raptorial in a way resembling those of the Mantodea, Mantispidae and certain other invertebrate predators. In form and function the forelegs of the Berytidae are roughly similar to those of their other legs. Other differences are subtler and not fully consistent. For one thing, the antennae of most Berytidae though long, geniculate, and in other ways generally similar to Emesinae, tend to have a more or less obvious swelling at the tip. Some members of the family also have slight swellings at the distal ends of the femora of their legs, though in many species this is either absent or not obvious. The head often has a forward-facing protrusion between the antennae bases. The wing membrane has five veins and can be hard to examine in short-winged forms. Some species have spine like protrusions emerging at the base of the forewings which have a pore through which chemicals are secreted. Many species have split or toothed claws which apparently allow, along with the long legs, these bugs to overcome plant defenses involving stick hair on their surfaces. Many species are not purely plant-sap feeding and will opportunistically scavenge on insects trapped on the surfaces of sticky-haired plants. [4] They typically probe all surfaces and can inflict a painful prick on the human skin as well. [5]

Biology

The habits of most species are not well known. Most are believed to be sap-suckers like most other Hemiptera, but some also feed on mites and small insects. [6] [7] [8]

Subfamilies and selected genera

Three subfamilies are usually recognised: [6]

Berytinae

tribe Berytini Fieber, 1851
tribe Berytinini Southwood & Leston, 1959

Gampsocorinae

Southwood and Leston, 1959

Metacanthinae

Douglas and Scott, 1865

Unplaced genera

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemiptera</span> Order of insects often called true bugs

Hemiptera is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from 1 mm (0.04 in) to around 15 cm (6 in), and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentatomoidea</span> Superfamily of true bugs

The Pentatomoidea are a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order. As Hemiptera, they share 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.

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

Pyrrhocoridae is a family of insects with more than 300 species world-wide. Many are red coloured and are known as red bugs and some species are called cotton stainers because their feeding activities leave an indelible yellow-brownish stain on cotton crops. A common species in parts of Europe is the firebug, and its genus name Pyrrhocoris and the family name are derived from the Greek roots for fire "pyrrho-" and bug "coris". Members of this family are often confused with, but can be quickly separated from, Lygaeidae by the lack of ocelli on the top of the head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coreidae</span> Family of insects

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.

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

The insect family Nabidae contains the damsel bugs. There are over 500 species in 20 genera. They are soft-bodied, elongate, winged terrestrial predators. Many damsel bugs catch and hold prey with their forelegs, similar to mantids. They are considered helpful species in agriculture because of their predation on many types of crop pests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lygaeoidea</span> Superfamily of true bugs

The Lygaeoidea are a sizeable superfamily of true bugs, containing seed bugs and allies, in the order Hemiptera. There are about 16 families and more than 4,600 described species in Lygaeoidea, found worldwide. Most feed on seeds or sap, but a few are predators.

<i>Macrotylus</i> Genus of insects

Macrotylus is a genus of plant bugs in the family Miridae. There are at least 60 described species in Macrotylus.

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

Tytthus is a genus of insects in family Miridae, the plant bugs. They are carnivorous, feeding upon the eggs of various planthoppers in the family Delphacidae, and thus are important in the biological control of pests. The genus is distributed throughout the Holarctic of the Northern Hemisphere, but species are also found in the tropics, in China, South America, Australia, and the Indo-Pacific.

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

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).

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

Orthops is a genus of plant bugs in the family Miridae. There are at least 30 described species in Orthops.

<i>Macrosaldula scotica</i> Species of true bug

Macrosaldula scotica is a predatory species of true bug, from the family Saldidae in the order Hemiptera from the western Palearctic.

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

Macrolophus is a genus of plant bugs in the family Miridae. There are at least 20 described species in Macrolophus.

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

Oxycarenidae is a family of true bugs in the order Hemiptera. There are more than 20 genera and 140 described species in Oxycarenidae.

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

Metacanthinae is a subfamily of stilt bugs in the family Berytidae. There are about 12 genera and 80 described species in Metacanthinae.

Hoplinus is a genus of stilt bugs in the family Berytidae. There are about six described species in Hoplinus.

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

Gampsocorinae is a subfamily of stilt bugs in the family Berytidae. There are about 60 described species in Gampsocorinae.

<i>Yemma</i> (bug) Genus of true bugs

Yemma is a genus of stilt bugs in the family Berytidae. There are about five described species in Yemma.

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

Mecomma is a genus of plant bugs in the family Miridae. There are more than 30 described species in Mecomma.

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

Metacanthus is a genus of stilt bugs in the family Berytidae. There are more than 20 described species in Metacanthus.

<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.

References

  1. ↑ "Neididae Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  2. ↑ Thomas J. Henry (1997). Monograph of the stilt bugs, or Berytidae (Heteroptera) of the Western Hemisphere. Entomological Society of Washington.
  3. ↑ Alan Weaving; Mike Picker; Griffiths, Charles Llewellyn (2003). Field Guide to Insects of South Africa. New Holland Publishers, Ltd. ISBN   1-86872-713-0.
  4. ↑ Wheeler, A. G.; Schaefer, Carl W. (1982). "Review of Stilt Bug (Hemiptera: Berytidae) Host Plants". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 75 (5): 498–506. doi:10.1093/aesa/75.5.498. ISSN   1938-2901.
  5. ↑ Schaefer, Carl W.; Panizzi, Antonio Ricardo, eds. (2000). "Stilt Bugs (Berytidae)". Heteroptera of Economic Importance (0 ed.). CRC Press. pp. 747–758. doi:10.1201/9781420041859-33. ISBN   978-0-429-11838-8 . Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  6. 1 2 Dellapé, Pablo M.; Henry, Thomas J. (2021). "family Berytidae Fieber 1851". Lygaeoidea Species File. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  7. ↑ "Berytidae". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
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