Acanthosomatidae is a family of Hemiptera, commonly named "shield bugs" or "stink bugs". Kumar in his 1974 world revision recognized 47 genera;[1] now this number is 55 genera, with about 200 species, and it is one of the least diverse families within Pentatomoidea.[2][3] The Acanthosomatidae species are found throughout the world, being most abundant in high-latitude temperate regions and in subtropical regions at high altitudes.[4]
| Acanthosomatidae | |
|---|---|
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| Acanthosomatidae - relative sizes | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Superfamily: | Pentatomoidea |
| Family: | Acanthosomatidae Signoret, 1864 |
| Subfamilies | |
One of the most well-known species in Acanthosomatidae is the hawthorn shield bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale), which is found throughout Europe and also northern Siberia; this species is typically green or brown in color and has a distinctive shape with two projections on its thorax. It feeds on a variety of plants, including hawthorn, rowan, and cherry.
Description
editAcanthosomatidae have heads that are keeled laterally and possess a pair of 5-segmented antennae. The mesosternum has a strongly projecting keel. The tarsi of the legs are 2-segmented. The second visible abdominal sternite has an elongate spine that projects forwards. The spiracles of the second abdominal segment are concealed by the metapleura. Abdominal sternite III has paired trichobothria. In males, sternite VIII is exposed and there is a specialised genital capsule. In females, one or two pairs of Pendergrast's organs are present in the abdomen (sometimes absent, e.g. Elasmucha[4]) and sternite VII has an emarginate posterior margin.[5]
In general appearance, Acanthosomatidae are similar to Pentatomidae. Various sources distinguish them based on the number of tarsal segments being 2 in acanthosomatids and 3 in pentatomids.[6][7] However, some pentatomids have 2-segmented tarsi as well.[8]
Ecology
editAcanthosomatidae are mostly herbivores on trees and shrubs. Host plants include Ficus, Hakea, Carex, Juncus, Cladium and Dactylis. There are also records of predation (including cannibalism) and scavenging on carrion.[5]
Maternal care
editMany species have females which take care of their offspring, guarding the eggs and nymphs. In these species, the Pendergrast's organs are absent or reduced and non-functional. Other species have a more limited form of care: females smear their eggs with secretions from the Pendergrast's organs (which may repel predators and parasitoids), then abandon the eggs. Egg smearing is the ancestral behaviour.[9]
Genera
editExamples of genera and species:
Subfamily Acanthosomatinae
edit- Acanthosoma Curtis, 1824
- Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale (Linnaeus, 1758) — Hawthorn shield bug
- Acanthosoma labiduroides Jakovlev, 1880 — Green shield bug
- Cyphostethus Fieber, 1860
- Elasmostethus Fieber, 1860
- Elasmucha Stål, 1864
- Elasmucha cordillera Thomas, 1991
- Elasmucha ferrugata (Fabricius, 1787)
- Elasmucha fieberi (Jakovlev, 1864)
- Elasmucha flammatum (Distant, 1893)
- Elasmucha grisea (Linnaeus, 1758) — Parent bug
- Elasmucha lateralis (Say, 1831)
- Eupolemus
- Oncacontias Breddin, 1903
Subfamily Blaudusinae
edit- Xosa Kirkaldy, 1904
Subfamily Ditomotarsinae
edit- Uhlunga Distant, 1892
Gallery
edit
References
edit- ^ Kumar, R. (1974). "A revision of world Acanthosomatidae (Heteroptera : Pentatomidae): Keys to and descriptions of subfamilies, tribes and genera, with designation of types". Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series. 22 (34): 1–60. doi:10.1071/ajzs034.
- ^ Faúndez, E. I. 2009. Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Acrophyma Bergroth, 1917 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Acanthosomatidae). Zootaxa. 2137: 57-65
- ^ FaúNdez, Eduardo I. (2014-02-28). "A new genus for a Chilean species of Acanthosomatidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)". Zootaxa. 3768 (5): 596–600. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3768.5.7. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 24871197.
- ^ a b Thomas, Donald B. (1991). "The Acanthosomatidae (Heteroptera) of North America". The Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 67 (3): 159––170.
- ^ a b "Family ACANTHOSOMATIDAE". biodiversity.org.au. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
- ^ Larivière, M-C (1995). Fauna of New Zealand 35: Cydnidae, Acanthosomatidae, and Pentatomidae (Insecta: Heteroptera): systematics, geographical distribution, and bioecology. Manaaki Whenua Press. doi:10.7931/j2/fnz.35.
- ^ Paiero, S. M.; Marshall, S. A.; McPherson, J. E.; Ma, M.-S. (2013). "Stink bugs (Pentatomidae) and parent bugs (Acanthosomatidae) of Ontario and adjacent areas: A key to species and a review of the fauna". Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. 24. doi:10.3752/cjai.2013.24.
- ^ Rider, D. A. (2000-07-01). "Stirotarsinae, New Subfamily for Stirotarsus abnormis Bergroth (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)" (PDF). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 93 (4): 802–806. doi:10.1603/0013-8746(2000)093[0802:SNSFSA]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 85843310.
- ^ Tsai, Jing-Fu; Kudo, Shin-ichi; Yoshizawa, Kazunori (2015). "Maternal care in Acanthosomatinae (Insecta: Heteroptera: Acanthosomatidae)—correlated evolution with morphological change". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (1): 258. Bibcode:2015BMCEE..15..258T. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0537-4. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 4653913. PMID 26586480.