Sting bugs
| Sting bugs | ||||||||||||
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Spotty brood bug ( Elasmucha grisea ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Acanthosomatidae | ||||||||||||
| Signoret , 1863 |
Spiky bugs (Acanthosomatidae), also known as keel bugs , are a family of bugs (Heteroptera) within the suborder Pentatomomorpha . Of them, more than 184 species in approx. 46 genera are known. In Europe, eight species are represented, all in Central Europe occur.
features
With a length of 6 to 18 millimeters, the small to medium-sized bugs have a more elongated, ovoid to deltoid -shaped body compared to the other members of the superfamily Pentatomoidea . The triangular shield ( scutellum ) is not widened and does not cover the corium of the hemielytras . It is about half the length or less than half the length of the abdomen. The tarsi are two-part.
Her head is keeled sideways. The antennae are five-part. The sternum on the mesonotum has a strongly protruding keel and on the sternum of the third abdominal segment there is an elongated spine that is directed forward. Because of these characteristics, the family has its German name. On the second abdominal segment also are stigmas by the Metapleura covered. Trichobothria arranged in pairs are located on the sternum of the third to seventh abdominal segment . The spermatheca of the male is simply built, the eighth sternite of the male is exposed. In females, the rear edge of the seventh sternum is deeply indented. The females have one or two pairs of Pendergast's organs (glands on the sterna of the abdomen). These are flattened and round, or elongated, and lie laterally on the fifth to seventh, or only on the seventh sternum. In the nymphs , the olfactory gland openings are located on the abdomen between the third to sixth tergum , with the anterior openings being small in some species.
The large keel on the mesosternum, the thorn on the ventral side of the abdomen, the two-part tarsi and the Pendergast's organs are autapomorphies of the family. In many species a tubercle is also formed on the maxillae.
Occurrence
The family is distributed worldwide, but has its main range in the temperate latitudes and the subtropics. The two subfamilies Blaudusinae and Ditomotarsinae are only common in the southern hemisphere and are absent in New Zealand, the subfamily Acanthosomatinae is mainly found in the northern hemisphere, but also occurs with an endemic genus, Rhopalomorpha , in New Zealand.
Way of life
The Holarctic representatives of the family are relatively well researched. Most species live on trees or bushes. Little is known about the Australian species. Several species are said to live on figs ( Ficus ), others also on different tree species. A number of Nearctic and Palearctic species practice extensive brood care for their eggs and nymphs. The females guard both their eggs and the nymphs during their first stages. This is e.g. B. well documented in Elasmucha putoni or Elasmucha dorsalis from Japan and other species of the genus Elasmucha (e.g. spotted brood bug ( Elasmucha grisea )). Sometimes the females of these species even stay up to the fifth nymph stage and accompany their offspring when they then migrate some distance from the egg-laying place to the flowers. Brood care mainly serves to ward off predators. In the case of the Japanese species mentioned, the mortality rate when the females are removed due to the forest knot ant ( Myrmica ruginodis ) is sometimes 100%. The females have different defense strategies, which are mostly used escalating until they are successful. This ranges from ordinary body twitching, repetitive twitching, leaning towards the enemy to shield the brood and direct movement towards the enemy, to powerful wing flapping that can blow smaller attackers such as ants or sickle bugs from the plants. If nymphs are injured, they send out alarm pheromones that cause the females to react immediately. Aggregation pheromones are also sent out to coordinate the group.
Taxonomy and systematics
Victor Antoine Signoret first described the group as family in 1863. In the further course of the research history it was often regarded as a subfamily or even a tribe within the stink bugs (Pentatomidae). Leston restored family rank in 1953, which opinion has been followed to this day. An examination based on morphological features and DNA sequences confirmed the monophyly of the family and revealed a sister relationship to the family Lestoniidae .
The family is divided into the following subfamilies and tribe:
- Subfamily Acanthosomatinae (12 genera; Palearctic, Orientalis, Australis)
- Subfamily Blaudusinae
- Tribus Blaudusini (10-11 genera; South Africa, Madagascar, Australia and South America)
- Tribe Lanopini (12 genera; South Africa, Madagascar, Australia and South America)
- Subfamily Ditomotarsinae (Africa, Australia and South America)
- Tribe Laccophorellini (3 genera; Africa, Australia)
- Tribus Ditomotarsini (11 genera; South America, Africa)
Species in Europe
The following species occur in Europe:
- Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale Lindberg , 1758 - Wipfel-Stachelbanze
- Cyphostethus tristriatus ( Fabricius , 1787) - Buntrock
- Elasmostethus brevis Lindberg , 1934
- Elasmostethus interstinctus ( Fabricius , 1758) - Colorful leaf bug
- Elasmostethus minor Horvath , 1899
- Elasmucha ferrugata ( Fabricius , 1787) - blueberry bug
- Elasmucha fieberi ( Jakovlev , 1865)
- Elasmucha grisea ( Fabricius , 1758) - Blotchy brood bug
More types
A selection of non-European species:
- Acanthosoma labiduroides Jakovlev , 1880
- Oncacontias vittatus ( Fabricius , 1781)
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Family Acanthosomatidae. Australian Biological Resources Study. Australian Faunal Directory, accessed April 19, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Acanthosomatidae. Fauna Europaea, accessed April 19, 2014 .
- ^ A b c Ekkehard Wachmann , Albert Melber, Jürgen Deckert: Bugs. Volume 4: Pentatomomorpha II: Pentatomoidea: Cydnidae, Thyreocoridae, Plataspidae, Acanthosomatidae, Scutelleridae, Pentatomidae. (= The animal world of Germany and the adjacent parts of the sea according to their characteristics and their way of life . 81st part). Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2008, ISBN 978-3-937783-36-9 , pp. 29 ff .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h R. T. Schuh, JA Slater: True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). Classification and Natural History. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York 1995, pp. 215ff.
- ↑ Jocelia Grazia, Randall T. Schuh & Ward C. Wheeler: Phylogenetic relationships of family groups in Pentatomoidea based on morphology and DNA sequences (Insecta: Heteroptera). Cladistics 24, pp. 932-976, 2008
literature
- RT Schuh, JA Slater: True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). Classification and Natural History. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York 1995.
