Reduviidae
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The Reduviidae are a large
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 ...
family of the order
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. ...
(true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the
Nabidae The insect family Nabidae contains the damsel bugs. There are over 500 species in 20 genera. They are soft-bodied, elongate, winged terrestrial predators. Many damsel bugs catch and hold prey with their forelegs, similar to mantids. They are c ...
almost all species are terrestrial
ambush predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey ...
s: most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic. The main examples of nonpredatory Reduviidae are some blood-sucking
ectoparasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
in the subfamily
Triatominae The members of the Triatominae , a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs (so-called from their habit of feeding from around the mouths of people), or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in The Amer ...
. Though spectacular exceptions are known, most members of the family are fairly easily recognizable; they have a relatively narrow neck, sturdy build, and a formidable curved
proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
(sometimes called a
rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...
). Large specimens should be handled with caution, if at all, because they sometimes defend themselves with a very painful stab from the proboscis.


Taxonomy

The Reduviidae are members of the suborder
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 ...
of the order
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. ...
. The family members are almost all predatory, except for a few blood-sucking species, some of which are important as disease vectors. About 7000 species have been described, in more than 20 recognized subfamilies, making it one of the largest families in the Hemiptera. The name Reduviidae is derived from the
type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal ...
, '' Reduvius''. That name, in turn, comes from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
'' reduvia'', meaning "
hangnail A hangnail is a tiny, torn piece of skin next to a fingernail or toenail, related to ingrown nails. The hangnail's other scientific names are: eponychium or paronychium. Hangnails are typically caused by having dry skin, or by trauma to the fin ...
" or "remnant". Possibly this name was inspired by the lateral flanges on the abdomen of many species. Common genera include: * '' Lopodytes'' * ''
Melanolestes ''Melanolestes'' is a Nearctic and Neotropical genus of assassin bugs (Reduviidae). Nine species are known : Species * '' Melanolestes argentinus'' Berg, 1879 * '' Melanolestes degener'' (Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People ...
'' * ''
Platymeris ''Platymeris'' is a genus of assassin bug (Reduviidae). ''Platymeris'' species are often used in laboratories and as pets. The venom of this genus has been studied in a laboratory setting. Species * ''Platymeris biguttatus'' (Linnaeus, 1767 ...
'' * '' Pselliopus'' * ''
Psyttala ''Psyttala'' is a genus of insects belonging to the assassin bugs. The name is commonly misspelled as ''Psytalla'' (e.g.). Species * '' Psyttala ducalis'' (Westwood, 1845) * '' Psyttala dudgeoni'' Distant, 1919 * '' Psyttala horrida'' (St ...
'' * ''
Rasahus ''Rasahus'' is a Neotropical genus of assassin bug The Reduviidae are a large cosmopolitan family of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush predators: most o ...
'' * '' Reduvius'' * ''
Rhiginia ''Rhiginia'' is a New World genus in the subfamily Ectrichodiinae of Reduviidae The Reduviidae are a large cosmopolitan family of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terre ...
'' * ''
Sinea ''Sinea'' is a New World genus of Reduviidae, assassin bugs, in the subfamily Harpactorinae. 13 species have been described, mostly from the Southwestern United States and Central America. List of species *''Sinea anacantha'' Hussey, 1953 *''S ...
'' * ''
Zelus In Greek mythology, Zelus or Zelos (; Ancient Greek: Ζῆλος ''Zēlos,'' literally 'zeal') was the daimon that personifies dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal. The English word "zeal" is derived from his name. Hi ...
'' While members of most subfamilies have no
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
s other than assassin bugs, among the many subfamilies are a few with their own common names that are reasonably widely recognized, such as: * Ambush bugs - subfamily
Phymatinae Insects in the subfamily Phymatinae are commonly called ambush bugs after their habit of lying in wait for prey, relying on their superb camouflage. Armed with raptorial forelegs, ambush bugs routinely capture prey ten or more times their own s ...
* Thread-legged bugs - subfamily
Emesinae The Emesinae, or thread-legged bugs, are a subfamily of the Reduviidae (i.e., assassin bugs). They are conspicuously different from the other reduviids by their very slender body form. They are stalking, predatory insects that can be collected on ...
, including the genus '' Emesaya'' * Kissing bugs (or cone-headed bugs) - subfamily
Triatominae The members of the Triatominae , a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs (so-called from their habit of feeding from around the mouths of people), or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in The Amer ...
, unusual in that most species are blood-suckers and several are important disease vectors * Wheel bugs - genus ''
Arilus ''Arilus'', or wheel bugs, is a genus of true bugs in the family Reduviidae, subfamily Harpactorinae and tribe Harpactorini. Most species are found in the Americas. Species Five extant species plus one fossil species are included within this ...
'', including the common North American species '' Arilus cristatus'' * Grass assassin bugs - genus Lopodytes


Morphology

Adult insects range from roughly 12 to 36 mm, depending on the species. They most commonly have an elongated head with a distinct narrowed 'neck', long legs, and prominent, segmented, tubular mouthparts, most commonly called the proboscis, but some authors use the term "rostrum". Most species are bright in colour with hues of brown, black, red, or orange. The most distinctive feature of the family is that the tip of the proboscis fits into a ridged groove in the
prosternum 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 ...
, where it can be used to produce sound by
stridulation Stridulation is the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts. This behavior is mostly associated with insects, but other animals are known to do this as well, such as a number of species of fish, snakes and spiders. The mech ...
. Sound is made by rasping the proboscis against ridges in this groove stridulitrum (stridulatory organ). These sounds are often used to discourage predators. When harassed, many species can deliver a painful stab with the proboscis, injecting venom or digestive juices. The effects can be intensely painful and the injection from some species may be medically significant.


Feeding

Predatory Reduviidae use the long rostrum to inject a lethal
saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
that liquefies the insides of the prey, which are then sucked out. The saliva contains enzymes that digest the tissues they swallow. This process is generally referred to as extraoral digestion. The saliva is commonly effective at killing prey substantially larger than the bug itself. The legs of some Reduviidae have areas covered in tiny hairs that aid in holding onto their prey while they feed. Others, members of the subfamily
Phymatinae Insects in the subfamily Phymatinae are commonly called ambush bugs after their habit of lying in wait for prey, relying on their superb camouflage. Armed with raptorial forelegs, ambush bugs routinely capture prey ten or more times their own s ...
in particular, have forelegs that resemble those of the
praying mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...
, and they catch and hold their prey in a similar way to mantises. As
nymph 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 ...
s, some species cover and
camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
themselves effectively with debris or the remains of dead prey insects. The nymphal instars of the species '' Acanthaspis pedestris'' present one good example of this behaviour where they occur in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
in India. Another well-known species is ''
Reduvius personatus ''Reduvius personatus'' or the masked hunter is an insect belonging to the assassin bug (Reduviidae) family. The name is because its nymphs camouflage themselves with dust. The masked hunter is a predator of small arthropods, including woodlice, ...
'', known as the masked hunter because of its habit of camouflaging itself with dust. Some species tend to feed on pests such as
cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...
es or bedbugs and are accordingly popular in regions where people regard their hunting as beneficial. ''Reduvius personatus'' is an example, and some people breed them as pets and for pest control. Some assassin bug subfamilies are adapted to hunting certain types of prey; for example, the
Ectrichodiinae The Ectrichodiinae are a subfamily of assassin bugs (Reduviidae) known for specializing on millipedes as prey. The group comprises more than 600 species in about 115 genera, making it a fairly large subfamily. The bugs are also known for their ...
eat
millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...
s, and feather-legged bugs eat ants. A spectacular example of the latter is '' Ptilocnemus lemur'', an Australian species in which the adult attacks and eats ants, but the nymph waits until the ant bites the feathery tufts on its hind legs, upon which it whips around and pierces the ant's head with its proboscis, and proceeds to feed. Some research on the nature of the venom from certain Reduviidae is under way. The saliva of '' Rhynocoris marginatus'' showed some insecticidal activity ''
in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology ...
'', in tests on lepidopteran pests. The effects included reduction of food consumption, assimilation, and use. Its antiaggregation factors also affected the aggregation and mobility of haemocytes. The saliva of the species '' Rhynocoris marginatus'' (Fab.) and '' Catamirus brevipennis'' (Servile) have been studied because of their activity against human pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria (including strains of ''
Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
'', ''
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerug ...
'', ''
Proteus vulgaris ''Proteus vulgaris'' is a rod-shaped, nitrate-reducing, indole-positive and catalase-positive, hydrogen sulfide-producing, Gram-negative bacterium that inhabits the intestinal tracts of humans and animals. It can be found in soil, water, and ...
'', and ''
Salmonella typhimurium ''Salmonella enterica'' subsp. ''enterica'' is a subspecies of ''Salmonella enterica'', the rod-shaped, flagellated, aerobic, Gram-negative bacterium. Many of the pathogenic serovars of the ''S. enterica'' species are in this subspecies, includin ...
'') and the Gram-positive (''
Streptococcus pyogenes ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' is a species of Gram-positive, aerotolerant bacteria in the genus ''Streptococcus''. These bacteria are extracellular, and made up of non-motile and non-sporing cocci (round cells) that tend to link in chains. They are ...
''). Some species are bloodsuckers rather than predators, and they are accordingly far less welcome to humans. '' Triatoma'' species and other members of the subfamily
Triatominae The members of the Triatominae , a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs (so-called from their habit of feeding from around the mouths of people), or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in The Amer ...
, such as ''
Rhodnius ''Rhodnius'' is a genus of assassin bugs in the subfamily Triatominae (the kissing bugs), and is an important vector in the spread of Chagas disease. The ''Rhodnius'' species were important models for Sir Vincent Wigglesworth's studies of insec ...
'' species, '' Panstrongylus megistus'', and '' Paratriatoma hirsuta'', are known as kissing bugs, because they tend to bite sleeping humans in the soft tissue around the lips and eyes. A more serious problem than their bites is the fact that several of these
haematophagous Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the practice by certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words αἷμα ' "blood" and φαγεῖν ' "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious pro ...
Central and South American species transmit the potentially fatal
trypanosoma ''Trypanosoma'' is a genus of kinetoplastids (class Trypanosomatidae), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. Trypanosoma is part of the phylum Sarcomastigophora. The name is derived from the Greek ''trypano-'' ( ...
l Chagas disease, sometimes called American trypanosomiasis. This results in the death of 12,000 people a year.


Phylogeny and evolutionary history

Current taxonomy is based on morphological characteristics. The first cladistic analysis based on molecular data (mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA) was published in 2009 and called into question the monophyly of some current groups, such as the
Emesinae The Emesinae, or thread-legged bugs, are a subfamily of the Reduviidae (i.e., assassin bugs). They are conspicuously different from the other reduviids by their very slender body form. They are stalking, predatory insects that can be collected on ...
. Reduviidae are monophyletic, and the "Phymatine Complex" is consistently recovered as the sister to the higher Reduviidae, which includes 90 percent of the reduviid species diversity. The origin of the species dates to around the middle Jurassic. The oldest fossils of the family are from the
Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...
( Cenomanian) aged
Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...
, represented by
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 ...
and the genus '' Paleotriatoma,'' belonging to the subfamily
Triatominae The members of the Triatominae , a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs (so-called from their habit of feeding from around the mouths of people), or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in The Amer ...
.


Example species

* '' Arilus cristatus''


References


External links


Reduviidae Systematics Research at UC Riverside

Video of Reduviid from Thailand

Reduviidae at the Encyclopedia of Life
{{Authority control Heteroptera families Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille