Lyctocoridae is a reconstituted family of bugs, formerly classified within the minute pirate bugs of 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 ...
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
.
Description
Lyctocoridae range in length from 2 mm to 6 mm. They have tarsi 3-segmented, forewing with a costal fracture and with weakly developed veins in the membrane, laterotergites on all abdominal
terga
A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'ma ...
, and male genitalia strongly asymmetrical (left paramere larger than the right).
Overall they resemble the related family Anthocoridae, but can be distinguished by:
* In males, the left paramere is flat, with a single-sheet form, and without a median sulcus. The phallus is tubular and well visible, with ductus seminis striated transversely and extended apically by a needle-shaped acus.
* In females, there are genital apophyses in the anterior region of abdominal sternum 7.
Diet
Lyctocoridae are mostly
predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
of small, soft-bodied arthropods, though ''L. campestris'' occasionally feeds on mammal (including human) blood and ''L. ichikawai'' is only known to feed on sap of sawtooth oak (''
Quercus acutissima
''Quercus acutissima'', the sawtooth oak, is an Asian species of oak native to China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Indochina (Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia) and the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, northeastern India). It is widely planted in many land ...
''). Adults and nymphs have similar diets.
Habitat
This family of bugs occurs under tree bark and in decaying plant matter, animal nests and burrows,
manure
Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the Soil fertility, fertility of soil by adding organic ma ...
piles, poultry houses,
granaries
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
and stored food products.
Reproduction
Lyctocoridae practice
traumatic insemination
Traumatic insemination, also known as hypodermic insemination, is the mating practice in some species of invertebrates in which the male pierces the female's abdomen with his aedeagus and injects his sperm through the wound into her abdominal cav ...
in which the male pierces the female (using the acus of his phallus) between terga 7 and 8 on the right side of her abdomen. The male's sperm migrate through the haemocoel or through specialized structures in the female to the
ovaries
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. T ...
, then fertilise the eggs within the vitellarium.
Biological control
Some species of Lyctocoridae are
biological control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also i ...
agents that feed on pest insects. ''Xylocoris'' and ''Lyctocoris'' attack beetle and moth pests in stored food products, and these genera along with ''Scoloposcelis'' attack bark beetle pests.
Systematics
Recent phylogenetic work supports the treatment of Lyctocoridae as a family separate from
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 ...
.
Genera
''BioLib'' lists a single subfamily Lyctocorinae Reuter, 1884:
# '' Lyctocoris'' Hahn, 1836 (in monotypic tribe Lyctocorini Reuter, 1884)
# '' Astemmocoris'' Carayon & Usinger, 1965
Placed elsewhere
Many of these are placed in the Anthocorinae tribes
Cardiastethini
The ''Cardiastethini'' are a tribe of flower bugs, erected by Carayon in 1972 and based on the type genus ''Cardiastethus''.BioLib tribus Cardiastethini Carayon, 1972 (retrieved 10 April 2022) and Scolopini:
* '' Alofa'' Herring, 1976
* ''
Amphiareus
''Amphiareus'' is a genus of minute pirate bugs belonging to 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†...
'' Distant, 1904
* ''
Brachysteles
''Brachysteles'' is a genus of minute pirate bugs in the family Lyctocoridae. There are at least three described species in ''Brachysteles''.
Species
These three species belong to the genus ''Brachysteles'':
* '' Brachysteles espagnoli'' Ribes, ...
'' Mulsant & Rey, 1852
* ''
Buchananiella
''Buchananiella'' is a genus of minute pirate bugs in the family Lyctocoridae. There are at least three described species in ''Buchananiella''.
Species
These three species belong to the genus ''Buchananiella'':
* '' Buchananiella continua'' (W ...
Cardiastethus
''Cardiastethus'' is a genus of minute pirate bugs in the family Lyctocoridae. There are more than 20 described species in ''Cardiastethus''.
Species
These 23 species belong to the genus ''Cardiastethus'':
* '' Cardiastethus assimilis'' (Reute ...
'' Fieber, 1860
* ''
Dufouriellus
''Dufouriellus'' is a monotypic genus of minute pirate bugs now placed in the tribe Anthocorini (previously considered typical of the Dufouriellini). The described species is '' Dufouriellus ater'', which has been recorded from much of western E ...