Rhopalidae
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Rhopalidae, or scentless plant bugs, are a
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of true bugs. In older literature, the family is sometimes called "Corizidae". They differ from the related coreids in lacking well-developed
scent gland Scent gland are exocrine glands found in most mammals. They produce semi-viscous secretions which contain pheromones and other semiochemical compounds. These odor-messengers indicate information such as status, territorial marking, mood, and s ...
s. They are usually light-colored and smaller than the coreids. Some are very similar to the orsilline lygaeids, but can be distinguished by the numerous veins in the membrane of the hemelytra. They live principally on weeds, but a few (including the boxelder bug) are
arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...
. All are plant feeders. The type genus for the family is: ''
Rhopalus ''Rhopalus'' is a genus of true bugs in the family Rhopalidae, the scentless plant bugs. Species * '' Rhopalus conspersus'' * '' Rhopalus distinctus'' * '' Rhopalus lepidus'' * '' Rhopalus maculatus'' * '' Rhopalus parumpunctatus'' * '' Rho ...
''. Currently 30 genera and over 240 species of rhopalids are known. The oldest fossil rhopalids described are from the
Middle Jurassic The Middle Jurassic is the second Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period (geology), Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively ...
of
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
, discovered from the Haifanggou Formation. They are not considered economically important with a few species being pests of ornamental trees.


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External links


Rhopalidae of Britain
Coreoidea Heteroptera families {{Coreoidea-stub