British Insects: the Families of Hemiptera
| British Insects: the Families of Hemiptera | |
Shield Bugs, Stink Bugs, Burrower Bugs.
Salient features of adults. Terrestrial.
Phytophagous (including one root-sucking burrower). Tiny to small; 3–9 mm long; fliers; emitting repugnatorial liquid as a defence reaction (?); relatively stout bodied. Head non-linear. Rostrum clearly separated ventrally from the prosternum by a sclerotized gula. Antennae longer than the head, readily visible from above; 5 segmented; non-aristate. Scutellum very large. Metathorax with a scent-gland opening, comprising a funnel surrounded by a dull patch of elaborately sculptured cuticle, visible laterally on either side. Fore-wings well developed; in the resting insect lying more or less flat over the abdomen; differentiated into a basally thickened and a distally membranous region; with a clavus. Tarsi 3 segmented. Pulvilli present. The abdomen without ventral silvery pubescence.
Comments. Hairless, burrowing bugs; tibiae with numerous strong spines; six visible abdominal tergites.
Taxonomy. Suborder Heteroptera; Pentatomoidea.
British representation. Genera 5; 9 species.
Illustrations: • Sehirus dubius (Dark Blue Shield-bug: B. Ent. 74).
The interactive key offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Hemiptera. Version: 9th April 2007. http://delta-intkey.com’.
