Pentatomoidea

Aphylum syntheticum, copyright Martin Lagerwey.

Belongs within: Panheteroptera.
Contains: Acanthosomatidae, Scutelleridae, Tessaratomidae, Cydnidae, Pentatominae, Asopinae.

The Pentatomoidea, stink bugs and related taxa, are a group of bugs with an enlarged scutellum, commonly reaching the apex of the clavus or beyond. In extreme cases, the scutellum may cover the entire abdomen. Most pentatomoids are plant-feeders but some species of Pentatomidae are predators. Examples of pentatomoid families in which the scutellum covers the abdomen include the Plataspididae, in which the hemelytra are much longer than the body but folding to fit under the scutellum at rest. Members of the Plataspididae are found in warmer regions of the Old World. Lestonia is an endemic Australian genus that has been collected on growing tips of the native cypress Callitris; members of this genus have the margins of the head, pronotum and part of the costal margins of the hemelytron expanded and recurved to give a tortoise-like appearance (Carver et al. 1991).

Other distinctive members of the Pentatomoidea include the east Asian genus Parastrachia, including two species of large, strikingly red and black bugs with a distinctive subsocial mode of behaviour through progressive provisioning (Sweet & Schaefer 2002). The tropical Urostylinae are relatively elongate and delicate compared to other pentatomoids and characterised by cylindrical antennifers set on the lateral margins of the head, entirely visible from above. The Dinidoridae are an Old World tropical family with reticulate venation on the membrane of the hemelytron (Carver et al. 1991).

<==Pentatomoidea SS02
    |--+--Lestonia China 1955 [Lestoniidae] G75
    |  |    |--*L. haustorifera China 1955 G75
    |  |    `--L. grossi CGW91
    |  `--Plataspididae [Brachyplatidae, Coptosomatidae, Plataspidinae] G75
    |       |--Ceratocoris RD77
    |       |--Elapheozygum RD77
    |       |--Brachyplatys CGW91
    |       |    |--B. pacificus Wall. 1851 D14
    |       |    `--B. vanikorensis Boisduval 1835 B35
    |       `--Coptosoma S07
    |            |--C. ostensum S07
    |            `--C. scutellatum H01
    `--+--Cydnidae G75
       `--+--Phloeidae G75
          `--Pentatomidae G75
               |  i. s.: Erthesina fullo YS01, H01
               |         Irochrotus caspius H01
               |         Phimodera collina H01
               |         Masthletinus abbreviatus H01
               |         Neottiglossa pusilla [incl. N. inflexa] H01
               |         Eusarcoris aeneus H01
               |         Rubiconia intermedia H01
               |         Palomena prasina H01
               |         Picromerus bidens H01
               |         Commius elegans C91
               |         Dalsira bohndorffi RD77
               |         Chlorochroa RD77
               |           |--C. ligata RD77
               |           `--C. uhleri E66
               |         Cyclopelta siccifolia R72
               |         Brochymena E66
               |           |--B. arborea E66
               |           |--B. cariosa E66
               |           |--B. carolinensis E66
               |           `--B. quadripustulata E66
               |         Dendrocoris humeralis E66
               |         Podisus chilensis E66
               |         Stethaulax marmoratus E66
               |         Trichopepla semivittata E66
               |         Solubea pugnax E66
               |--Trincavellius [Discocephalinae] B27
               |--Pentatominae SS02
               |--Aphylum Bergroth 1906 G75 [Aphylidae, Aphylinae CGW91]
               |    |--*A. syntheticum Bergroth 1906 G75
               |    `--A. bergrothi G75
               `--Asopinae SS02

Pentatomoidea incertae sedis:
  Acanthosomatidae SS02
  Parastrachia Distant 1883 SDT88 [Parastrachiaria, Parastrachiidae SS02, Parastrachiinae]
    |--P. japonensis (Scott 1880) (see below for synonymy) SDT88
    `--P. nagaensis Distant 1908 SS02
  Dinidoridae SS02
    |--Coridius janus SS02
    |--Eumenotes obscurus CGW91
    `--Megymenum SS02
         |--M. affine Boisduval 1835 B35
         |--M. dentatum Boisduval 1835 B35
         |--M. gracilicorne SS02
         `--M. insulare CGW91
  Thyreocoridae SS02
    |--Thyreocoris SS02
    `--Corimelaena [Corimelaeninae] SS02
  Scutelleridae GE05
  Tessaratomidae SS02
  Megaris [Megarididae] SDT88
  Canopidae CGW91
  Urostylinae [Urolabidae] SDT88
    |--Urolabida nilgirica SDT88
    |--Urochela pardalina Zhang 1989 RJ93
    `--Urostylis RD77
  Serbana SDT88
  Cyrtocoridae SDT88
  Ruckesona [Saileriolinae] SDT88
    `--R. vitrella SDT88
  Tahitocoris SDT88

Parastrachia japonensis (Scott 1880) [=Asopus japonensis, P. japonica (l. c.); incl. *P. fulgens Distant 1883] SDT88

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B27] Bergroth, E. 1927. Hemiptera Heteroptera from New Zealand. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 671–684.

[B35] Boisduval, J. B. 1835. Voyage de Découvertes de l’Astrolabe. Exécuté par ordre du Roi, pendant les années 1826–1827–1828–1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville. Faune entomologique de l'océan Pacifique, avec l'illustration des insectes nouveaux recueillis pendant le voyage vol. 2. Coléoptères et autres ordres. J. Tastu: Paris.

[CGW91] Carver, M., G. F. Gross & T. E. Woodward. 1991. Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers, cicadas, aphids, scale insects etc.) In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 1 pp. 429–509. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[C91] CSIRO. 1991. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 1. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[D14] Distant, W. L. 1914. Rhynchota from New Caledonia and the surrounding islands. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 4 pp. 369–390, pls 11–12. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[E66] Evans, H. E. 1966. The Comparative Ethology and Evolution of the Sand Wasps. Harvard University Press: Cambridge (Massachusetts).

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[G75] Gross, G. F. 1975. Plant-feeding and Other Bugs (Hemiptera) of South Australia. Heteroptera—Part I. Handbook of the Flora and Fauna of South Australia.

[H01] Horváth, G. 1901. Hemipterák [Hemiptera]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 245–274. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[R72] Rao, K. R. 1972. On the occurrence of Cyclopelta siccifolia Westw. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on Zizyphus sp. in Aurangabad. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 69 (2): 440–441.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.

[SDT88] Schaefer, C. W., W. R. Dolling & S. Tachikawa. 1988. The shieldbug genus Parastrachia and its position within the Pentatomoidea (Insecta: Hemiptera). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 93: 283–311.

[S07] Ślipiński, A. 2007. Australian Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): Their biology and classification. Australian Biological Resources Study: Canberra.

[SS02] Sweet, M. H., & C. W. Schaefer. 2002. Parastrachiinae (Hemiptera: Cydnidae) raised to family level. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 95: 441–448.

[YS01] Yoshizawa, K., & T. Saigusa. 2001. Phylogenetic analysis of paraneopteran orders (Insecta: Neoptera) based on forewing base structure with comments on monophyly of Auchenorrhycha (Hemiptera). Systematic Entomology 26: 1–13.

Last updated: 9 May 2022.