Serinethinae is a subfamily of the

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. ...

n family

Rhopalidae Rhopalidae, or scentless plant bugs, are a family of true bugs. In older literature, the family is sometimes called "Corizidae". They differ from the related coreids in lacking well-developed scent glands. They are usually light-colored and sma ...

, sometimes known as soapberry bugs.
2007 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, December 9–12, 2007. They are brightly colored seed-eaters, comprising three

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

and about sixty-five

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 ...

. These bugs are specialists on plants in the soapberry family (

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...

), which includes

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

s, balloon vines, and soapberry trees, among others. Seeds of the plants are the main resource used by adults for reproduction and

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 ...

for growth and development. Their diversity is the result of an adaptive radiation on these plants, whose

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

-based defenses the bugs have overcome. The New World genus ''

Jadera ''Jadera'' is a genus of true bugs in the soapberry bug subfamily. Members of this genus are only found in the Americas (from southern Canada through Argentina).Göllner-Scheiding, U. (1983): General-Katalog der Familie Rhopalidae (Heteropter ...

'' consists of nearly 20 species that range naturally from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

to southern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. ''

Boisea ''Boisea'' is the least speciose genus of the soapberry bug subfamily. Members of this genus are found in North America, India, and Africa. Unlike other serinethine genera, the distribution of ''Boisea'' is very patchy; it is speculated that it ...

'' consists of 4 species, 1 in Africa, 1 in India, and 2 in North America, including the well-known

box elder ''Acer negundo'', the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or inva ...

bug, ''

Boisea trivittata The boxelder bug (''Boisea trivittata'') is a North American species of true bug. It is found primarily on boxelder trees, as well as maple and ash trees.

''. '' Leptocoris'' includes more than 60 species, in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

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 ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. '' Jadera haematoloma'' is a soapberry bug found in Florida known for its rapid adaptive

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

following the introduction of a non-native soapberry plant.
Rapid evolution in Florida Soapberry Bugs: Genetic architecture of adaptive differentiation in evolving host races of the soapberry bug, ''Jadera haematoloma'', Scott P. Carroll, Hugh Dingle, Thomas R. Famula & Charles W. Fox, Genetica 112–113: 257–272, 2001

References

External links

Online guide to soapberry bugs
Serinethinae, Rhopalidae {{Coreoidea-stub