The Pentatomoidea are a superfamily of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s in 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 of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

. As hemipterans, they possess a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The roughly 7000 species under Pentatomoidea are divided into 21

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(16 extant and 5 extinct). Among these are the stink bugs and shield bugs, jewel bugs, giant shield bugs, and burrower bugs.

Description

The Pentatomoidea are characterised by a well-developed scutellum (the hardened extension of the

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

over the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

). It can be triangular to semielliptical in shape. The antennae typically have five segments. The tarsi usually have two or three segments. Shield bugs have

glands A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

that produce a foul-smelling liquid, which is used defensively to deter potential predators.

Nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

have glands on the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

surface of the

(dorsal abdominal scent glands). These are often present in adults as well, but adults also develop a pair of glands on the

metathorax The metathorax is the posterior of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the third pair of legs. Its principal sclerites ( exoskeletal plates) are the metanotum (dorsal), the metasternum (ventral), and the metapleuron (lateral ...

(third segment of the thorax), these being the metathoracic scent glands. The nymphs and adults have distinctive piercing mouthparts, with

mandibles In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

and

maxillae In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxillar ...

modified to form a piercing stylet sheathed within a modified labium. The stylet is used to suck sap from plants, or in some cases to suck blood from other animals, such as in the predatory subfamily

Asopinae Asopinae are a subfamily of Pentatomidae, stink bugs (family (biology), family Pentatomidae). They are predatory stink bugs that are useful as biological control agents against pests, even against other Pentatomid species, which are all herbivo ...

. Pentatomoidea are mostly

phytophagous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet (nutrition), diet. These more broadly also encompass an ...

, although some (the

or predatory stink bugs) are zoophagous. They can become significant pests (e.g. the

brown marmorated stink bug The brown marmorated stink bug (''Halyomorpha halys'') is an insect in the family Pentatomidae, native to China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian regions. In September 1998, it was collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where it is believed to have ...

), causing economic damage to certain crops.

Families

These families are classified under Pentatomoidea:

Extant

Acanthosomatidae Acanthosomatidae is a family of Hemiptera, commonly named "shield bugs" and sometimes "stink bugs".There are currently recognized 200 species in 55 genera, making it is one of the least diverse families within Pentatomoidea. The Acanthosomatidae ...

– known as shield bugs, contains 46 genera and 184 species found worldwide * Canopidae – found strictly in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...

P220 Randall T. Schuh, James Alexander Slater, ''True bugs of the world (Hemiptera:Heteroptera): classification and natural history'', Cornell University Press, 1995, *

Cydnidae Cydnidae are a family of pentatomoid bugs, known by common names including burrowing bugs or burrower bugs. As the common name would suggest, many members of the group live a subterranean lifestyle, burrowing into soil using their head and forel ...

– known as burrowing bugs, it contains 120 genera and about 765 species worldwide. * Dinidoridae – found in tropical

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, composed of 16 genera and about 65 species * Lestoniidae – small, round bugs that bear a resemblance to tortoise beetles (

Chrysomelidae The beetle family Chrysomelidae, commonly known as leaf beetles, includes over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making it one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Numerous s ...

), composed only of one genus and two species, endemic to Australia * Megarididae – contains only one extant genus (''

Megaris :''This is also the ancient Greek name of Megaris (Naples), a small island off Naples, site of the Castel dell'Ovo.'' Megaris () was a small but populous Sovereign state, state of ancient Greece, west of Attica and north of Corinthia, whose inhabi ...

'') and 16 species, small, globular bugs occurring in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

* Parastrachiidae – bright red and black bugs exhibiting maternal care of eggs, it contains only two genera: '' Dismegistus'' (Africa) and '' Parastrachia'' (Eastern Asia). *

Pentatomidae Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species.Robert G ...

– known as stink bugs, it is the largest family in Pentatomoidea. It contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species. * Phloeidae – large mottled brown and flattened bugs found strictly in the

. It is composed on only 2 genera and 3 species. They are known to exhibit strong maternal care. * Plataspidae – found in Asia, particularly eastern Asia, although a few species of '' Coptosoma'' occur in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

. They are round plant-feeding bugs. It has about 59 genera and 560 species. * Saileriolidae – only recently removed from inclusion within Urostylididae. *

Scutelleridae Scutelleridae is a Family (biology), family of Hemiptera, true bugs. They are commonly known as jewel (stink) bugs or metallic shield bugs due to their often brilliant coloration. With the name based on the Asian genus ''Scutellera'', they are a ...

– known as jewel bugs or shield-backed bugs. Composed of 81 genera and about 450 species. * Tessaratomidae – known as giant shield bugs because they are usually relatively large. Has about 55 genera and 240 species worldwide (mainly in the Old World tropics). * Thaumastellidae – small bugs usually found under rocks in tropical Africa and the Middle East. It contains only one genus and three species. There is some debate to their inclusion within Pentatomoidea. *

Thyreocoridae The Thyreocoridae are a family of shield bugs, known by common names that include negro bugs or ebony bugs. Historically, a few authors have called this family "Corimelaenidae" (e.g.), but the name Thyreocoridae, published in 1843, has nomenclatu ...

– includes the former family, subfamily Corimelaeninae – known as ebony bugs, they are small, oval, shiny black bugs. * Urostylididae – contains about 11 genera and 170 species. They are found in Southern and Eastern Asia.

Extinct

*† Mesopentacoridae Popov 1968 Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, Asia *† Primipentatomidae – family with about four Early Cretaceous fossil species from China. *† Probascanionidae Handlirsch 1921 Monotypic, Early Jurassic, Germany *† Protocoridae Handlirsch 1906 Early-Middle Jurassic, Eurasia *† Venicoridae Yao et al. 2012 Early Cretaceous, China

Phylogeny

The morphological unweighted tree of Pentatomoidea after Grazia et al. (2008).

Gallery

References

External links

Stink Bug Fact Sheet
from the United States National Pest Management Association {{Taxonbar, from=Q2341257 Agricultural pest insects Hemiptera superfamilies