The Tingidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of very small ()

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

that are commonly referred to as lace bugs. This group is distributed worldwide with about 2,000 described

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 ...

. They are called lace bugs because the

pronotum 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) on ea ...

and fore wings of the adult have a delicate and intricate network of divided areas that resemble

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

. Their body appearance is flattened dorsoventrally and they can be broadly oval or slender. Often, the head is concealed under the hood-like pronotum. Lace bugs are usually

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

-specific and can be very destructive to plants. Most feed on the undersides of leaves by piercing the epidermis and sucking the sap. The then empty cells give the leaves a bronzed or silvery appearance. Each individual usually completes its entire

lifecycle Life cycle, life-cycle, or lifecycle may refer to: Science and academia * Biological life cycle, the sequence of life stages that an organism undergoes from birth to reproduction ending with the production of the offspring *Life-cycle hypothesis ...

on the same plant, if not the same part of the plant. Most species have one to two generations per year, but some species have multiple generations. Most

overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...

as adults, but some species overwinter as eggs or

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

. This group has incomplete

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

in that the immature stages resemble the adults, except that the immatures are smaller and do not have wings. However, wing pads appear in the second and third

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s and increase in size as the nymph matures. Depending on the species, lace bugs have four or five instars. Lace bugs sometimes fall out of trees, land on people, and bite, which, although painful, is a minor nuisance. No medical treatment is necessary. There are reports in Europe, e.g., Italy, France and Romania, of ''Corythucha ciliata'' biting humans and some people have painful reactions, e.g., dermatosis.

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of the

Miroidea Miroidea is a superfamily of true bugs in the order Hemiptera. There are about 7 families and more than 15,000 described species in Miroidea. Families These seven families belong to the superfamily Miroidea: * Microphysidae Dohrn, 1859 * Mirida ...

are not well established, with various authors treating the families, and subfamilies, and tribes differently. The phylogeny here follows that of Drake and Ruhoff 1965. Members have been found in the fossil record from the Early Cretaceous onwards, with the oldest being '' Sinaldocader'' from the Early Cretaceous

Zaza Formation The Zaza Formation is a geological formation located in Buryatia (Russia). It dates to the Lower Cretaceous period. It is Aptian in age and consists of Sandstone, sandstones, Siltstone, siltstones, Marl, marls and bituminous Shale, shales, deposi ...

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...

, Russia.

Gallery

References

External links

Lacebugs of Britain
*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 The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a teaching, research and Extension scientific organization focused on agriculture and natural resources. It is a partnership of federal, state, and county governmen ...

''Featured Creatures'' website
''Corythucha ciliata'', sycamore lace bug

{{Authority control Heteroptera families

Phylogeny

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links