Alydidae, commonly known as broad-headed bugs, is a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of true bugs very similar to the closely related Coreidae

Coreidae

Coreidae are a large family of predominantly herbivorous insects that belong in the hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. There are more than 1,800 species in over 250 genera. They vary in size from 7 to 45 mm, making the larger species some of the biggest heteropterans. The body shape of coreids...

 (leaf-footed bugs and relatives). There are about 40 genera

Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...

 with 250 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 altogether. Distributed in the temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 and warmer regions of the Earth, most are tropical and subtropical animals; for example Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 has a mere 10 species, and only 2 of these occur outside the Mediterranean region.

Description

Broad-headed bugs are up to 10–12 mm (0.393700787401575–0.47244094488189 ) long, and have slender bodies. Some have long and very thin legs. The most notable characteristics of the family are that the head is broad, often similar in length and width to the pronotum and the scutellum, and that the last antennal

Antenna (biology)

Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....

 segments are elongated and curved. The compound eyes are globular and protruding, and they also have ocelli. The femora

Arthropod leg

The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: coxa , trochanter , femur, tibia, tarsus, ischium, metatarsus, carpus, dactylus ,...

 of the hindlegs bear several strong spines; the tarsus has three segments. Most species have well-developed hemielytra (forewings), allowing them to fly well, but in some the hemielytra are vestigial. The membranous part of the hemielytra has several long veins.

Alydidae are generally of dusky or blackish coloration. The upperside of the abdomen is usually bright orange-red. this color patch is normally not visible as it is covered by the wings; it can be exposed, perhaps to warn would-be predators of these animals' noxiousness: They frequently have scent glands that produce a stink considered to be worse than that of true stink bugs (Pentatomidae

Pentatomidae

Pentatomidae, Greek pente meaning five and tomos meaning section, is a family of insects belonging to order hemiptera that includes some of the stink bugs and shield bugs. Their antennae are 5-segmented, which gives the family its scientific name. Their bodies are usually shield-shaped...

). The stink is said to smell similar to a bad case of halitosis

Halitosis

Halitosis is a term used to describe noticeably unpleasant odors exhaled in breathing. Halitosis is estimated to be the third most frequent reason for seeking dental aid, following tooth decay and periodontal disease.- General :...

.

The larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e and adults, which sometimes have reduced wings, of some species such as Dulichius inflatus

Dulichius inflatus

Dulichius inflatus is an ant mimic bug in the family Alydidae that is found mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is said to live in the nests of ants Polyrhachis lacteipennis which it morphologically resembles....

and Hyalymenus spp. are ant mimics and live in ant nests.

Ecology

These bugs mainly inhabit fairly arid

Arid

A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...

 and sandy habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

, like seashores, heathland, steppe

Steppe

In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...

 and savanna

Savanna

A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...

s. Their main food is seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s, which they pierce with their proboscis

Proboscis

A proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In simpler terms, a proboscis is the straw-like mouth found in several varieties of species.-Etymology:...

 to drink the nutritious fluids contained within. Some are economically significant pests, for example Leptocorisa oratorius on rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

.

Systematics

Three major lineages of broad-headed bugs are known. Two are generally accepted as subfamilies, the third is either placed as a tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

 Leptocorisini in the Microelytrinae, or treated as a third subfamily Leptocorinae.

Selected genera

• Alydus
• Camptopus
• Heegeria
• Leptocorisa
• Megalotomus
• Micrelytra
• Nariscus
• Nemausus
• Neomegalotomus
• Tenosius