Aradidae is a family of flat bugs, and a member of true bugs (

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

). The common name for these insects refers to their

dorsoventrally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

flattened bodies. With few exceptions, these cryptic insects are of no economic importance. This family occurs worldwide, with the most diversity occurring in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

species commonly live under the bark of dead trees, while many

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

species are found in

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

or on fallen twigs or branches. Most members of the family are thought to be

mycophagous Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals, insects, plants, amoebas, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and othe ...

(fungus eating), but little is known of the feeding habits of most species. They can be attracted to the

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

s of

bark beetle A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...

s. Many of the tropical taxa are

apterous Aptery is the anatomical condition of an animal completely lacking any kind of wings. An animal with this condition is said to be apterous. Most animal species belong to and are phylogenetic descendants of apterous taxa. These groups are said to ...

. Flat bugs are distant relatives of the more familiar

stink bug Stink bug or stinkbug is a common name for several insects and may refer to: * Any of several bugs in the true bug (hemipteran) family Pentatomidae **''Halyomorpha halys The brown marmorated stink bug (''Halyomorpha halys'') is an insect in the ...

External links

Video of a cryptic Flat Bug (Dysodius Lunatus, Aradidae) on a dead tree barkInternational Heteropterist's Society

https://bugguide.net/node/view/9317 * Aradoidea Heteroptera families Taxa named by Maximilian Spinola {{Pentatomomorpha-stub