The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the
taxonomic synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Lin ...
Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs".
Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs. It is the largest family of true bugs belonging to the suborder
Heteroptera; it includes over 10,000 known species, and new ones are being described constantly. Most widely known mirids are species that are notorious agricultural pests that pierce plant tissues, feed on the sap, and sometimes transmit viral plant diseases. Some species however, are predatory.
Description
Miridae are small, terrestrial insects, usually oval-shaped or elongate and measuring less than in length. Many of them have a hunched look, because of the shape of the
prothorax
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum ( dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron ( lateral) o ...
, which carries the head bent down. Some are brightly coloured and attractively patterned, others drab or dark, most being inconspicuous. Some genera are ant
mimic
MIMIC, known in capitalized form only, is a former simulation computer language developed 1964 by H. E. Petersen, F. J. Sansom and L. M. Warshawsky of Systems Engineering Group within the Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson AFB in ...
s at certain stages of life. The Miridae do not have any ocelli. Their rostrum has four segments. One useful feature in identifying members of the family is the presence of a
cuneus
The cuneus (; plural cunei) is a smaller lobe in the occipital lobe of the brain. The cuneus is bounded anteriorly by the parieto-occipital sulcus and inferiorly by the calcarine sulcus.
Function
The cuneus (Brodmann area 17) receives visua ...
; it is the triangular tip of the
corium, the firm, horny part of the forewing, the hemelytron. The cuneus is visible in nearly all Miridae, and only in a few other
Hemiptera, notably the family
Anthocoridae
Anthocoridae is a family of bugs, commonly called minute pirate bugs or flower bugs. Worldwide there are 500-600 species.
Description
Anthocoridae are 1.5–5 mm long and have soft, elongated oval, flat bodies, often patterned in black an ...
, which are not much like the Miridae in other ways. The
tarsi almost always have three segments.
Some mirid species
*
Lygus bugs (''Lygus'' spp.), including the tarnished and western tarnished plant bugs, are serious pests in the
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
,
strawberry, and
alfalfa industries.
* ''
Stenotus binotatus'', a minor pest of cereal crops, especially
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
* Apple dimpling bug (''
Campylomma liebknechti'') damages
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
blossoms and small growing fruits.
*
Mosquito bugs ''
Helopeltis'' and ''
Afropeltis'' spp. – that infest various crops including
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
,
cacao and
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
*
Honeylocust plant bug (''Diaphnocoris chlorionis'') damages foliage on
honeylocust trees.
*
Green mirid
''Creontiades dilutus,'' commonly known as the green mirid, is a member of the bug family Miridae (the largest bug family with over 10,000 species). This insect is considered a "generalist" feeding on over 100 plant species, and is also a major ...
(''Creontiades dilutus'') damages many types of field crops.
*
Potato capsid (''Closterotomus norwegicus'') is a noted pest of
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
and
clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
plants in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
* ''
Deraeocoris nebulosus'' prefers other insects to plants in its diet, and has been used as a
biocontrol agent against
mite
Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...
s and
scale insects.
* ''
Dicyphus hesperus
''Dicyphus hesperus'' is a species of true bug in the family Miridae. It is a generalist predator of other insects and also feeds on plant tissues. It is native to North America and has been used there in biological control of agricultural pest ...
'' sucks sap from various plants and preys on
whitefly
Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than 1550 species have been described.
Description and taxonomy
The ...
and
red spider mite
''Tetranychus urticae'' (common names include red spider mite and two-spotted spider mite) is a species of plant-feeding mite generally considered to be a pest. It is the most widely known member of the family Tetranychidae or spider mites. It ...
s and can be used in biological pest control.
Systematics
This family includes a large number of
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, many of which are still unknown, distributed in more than 1300 genera. The taxonomic tree includes the following subfamilies and numerous tribes:
*
Bryocorinae
''Bryocorinae'' is a subfamily of bugs in the family Miridae.
Tribes and genera
''BioLib''BioLib.cz
Bryocorinae Baerens ...
**
Bryocorini
**
Dicyphini
**
Eccritotarsini
*
Cylapinae
**
Cylapini
**
Fulviini
*
Deraeocorinae[
** Clivinematini
** Deraeocorini
** Hyaliodini
** Saturniomirini
** Surinamellini
** Termatophylini
* ]Isometopinae
Isometopinae is a subfamily of jumping tree bugs in the family Miridae and are the only members of the Miridae to possess ocelli. The subfamily is split into five tribes. There are 42 genera and approximately 239 described species in Isometopina ...
** Diphlebini
** Isometopini
* Mirinae
Mirinae is a subfamily of plant bugs, insects in the family Miridae.
Tribes
* Herdoniini
* Hyalopeplini
* Mecistoscelini
* Mirini
Mirini is a tribe of plant bugs belonging to the subfamily Mirinae.
Genera
'' Acanthocranella'' - '' ...
** Herdoniini
Herdoniini is a tribe of plant bugs in the family Miridae
The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common ...
** Hyalopeplini
** Mirini
Mirini is a tribe of plant bugs belonging to the subfamily Mirinae.
Genera
'' Acanthocranella'' - '' Acanthopeplus'' - '' Actinonotus'' - '' Adelphocoridea'' - '' Adelphocoris'' - '' Adelphocorisella'' - '' Adnotholopus'' - '' Adphytocoris'' ...
** Pithanini
** Restheniini
Restheniini is a tribe of plant bugs in the family Miridae. There are at least 4 genera and 30 described species in Restheniini.
Genera
These four genera belong to the tribe Restheniini:
* '' Oncerometopus'' Reuter, 1876
* '' Opistheurista'' Ca ...
** Stenodemini
Stenodemini is a tribe of plant bugs in the family Miridae
The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common ...
* Orthotylinae
** Ceratocapsini
** Halticini
** Orthotylini
* Phylinae
** Hallodapini
** Leucophoropterini
** Phylini
** Pilophorini
Psallopinae
Auth.: Schuh, 1976
# '' Isometopsallops'' Herczek & Popov, 1992
# '' Psallops'' Usinger, 1946
# †'' Cylapopsallops'' Popov & Herczek, 2006
# †'' Epigonopsallops'' Herczek & Popov, 2009
Genera ''
Incertae sedis
' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...
''
''BioLib'' includes:
# '' Amulacoris'' Carvalho & China, 1959
# '' Anniessa'' Kirkaldy, 1903
# '' Auchus'' Distant, 1893
# '' Bahiarmiris'' Carvalho, 1977
# '' Brasiliocarnus'' Kerzhner & Schuh, 1995
# '' Carmelinus'' Carvalho & Gomes, 1972
# '' Carmelus'' Drake & Harris, 1932
# '' Chaetophylidea'' Knight, 1968
# '' Charitides'' Kerzhner, 1962
# '' Colimacoris'' Schaffner & Carvalho, 1985
# '' Cylapocerus'' Carvalho & Fontes, 1968
# '' Duckecylapus'' Carvalho, 1982
# '' Englemania'' Carvalho, 1985
# '' Eurycipitia'' Reuter, 1905
# '' Faliscomiris'' Kerzhner & Schuh, 1998
# '' Fuscus'' Distant, 1884
# '' Guerrerocoris'' Carvalho & China, 1959
# ''Gunhadya'' - monotypic '' Gunhadya rubrofasciata'' Distant, 1920
# '' Heterocoris'' Guérin-Ménéville in Sagra, 1857
# '' Knightocoris'' Carvalho & China, 1951
# '' Leonomiris'' Kerzhner & Schuh, 1998
# '' Macrotyloides'' Van Duzee, 1916
# '' Merinocapsus'' Knight, 1968
# '' Mircarvalhoia'' Kerzhner & Schuh, 1998
# '' Montagneria'' Akingbohungbe, 1978
# '' Muirmiris'' Carvalho, 1983
# '' Myochroocoris'' Reuter, 1909
# '' Nesosylphas'' Kirkaldy, 1908
# '' Notolobus'' Reuter, 1908
# '' Nymannus'' Distant, 1904
# '' Paracoriscus'' Kerzhner & Schuh, 1998
# '' Paraguayna'' Carvalho, 1986
# '' Prodomopsis'' TBD
# '' Prodomus'' TBD
# '' Pseudobryocoris'' Distant, 1884
# '' Pygophorisca'' Carvalho & Wallerstein, 1978
# '' Rayeria'' TBD
# '' Rewafulvia'' Carvalho, 1972
# '' Rhynacloa'' Reuter
# '' Rondonisca'' Carvalho & Costa, 1994
# '' Rondonoides'' Carvalho & Costa, 1994
# '' Rondonotylus'' Carvalho & Costa, 1994
# '' Spanogonicus'' Berg
# '' Sthenaridia'' TBD
# '' Zoilus'' Distant, 1884
References
Further reading
*
*
Google books preview
External links
PBI Plant Bug Index
Link to Al Wheeler's book on the biology of mirids
Research on mirids of Southern California at UC Riverside
on the University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
/ Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences ''Featured Creatures'' website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q864705
Heteroptera families
Articles containing video clips
Taxa named by Carl Wilhelm Hahn