Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Family Rhopalidae - Scentless Plant Bugs

Eggs Need ID for Gathering_2008 - Arhyssus nigristernum Boxelder? - Boisea rubrolineata Arhyssus lateralis ? - Arhyssus lateralis - female Hemipteran - Harmostes Arhyssus lateralis unknown Heteropteran nymph Arhyssus? - Arhyssus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Infraorder Pentatomomorpha
Superfamily Coreoidea (Leatherbugs)
Family Rhopalidae (Scentless Plant Bugs)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
'Corizidae'
Explanation of Names
Rhopalidae Amyot & Serville 1843
common name refers to the greatly reduced scent gland opening(1)
Numbers
2 subfamilies, with ~40 spp. in 10 genera in our area(2) and >200 spp. in ~20 genera worldwide(1)
Overview of our fauna (* –taxa not yet in the guide; classification follows(3)):
Family Rhopalidae
Subfamily Rhopalinae
Size
4-15+ mm(1)
Identification
No scent glands; many veins on front wing membrane(4)
Resemble small Coreidae. Ocelli distinctly raised.
Key to eastern spp. in(5)
Key to Florida species and most NA genera in(6)
Range
much of the world, incl. our area(3)
Food
seeds of herbaceous plants, but some are arboreal(7)(8)
See Also
some members of Coreidae and Lygaeoidea look similar, e.g.:
Works Cited
1.Biodiversity of the Heteroptera
Henry T.J. 2009. In: Foottit R.G., Adler P.H., eds. Insect biodiversity: Science and society. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell: 223−263.
2.The first Chorosoma (Hemiptera: Rhopalidae: Rhopalinae: Chorosomatini) from the New World: Chorosoma josifovi nov. sp.
Schwartz M.D., Schaefer C.W., Lattin J.D. 2008. pp. 339-348 in: Grozeva S., Simov N. (Eds) Advances in Heteroptera research... Pensoft Publishers, Sofia–Moscow.
3.Livermore L.J.R., Lemaître V.A., Dolling W.R., Webb M.D. Coreoidea species file online. Version 5.0
4.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
5.Rhopalus (Brachycarenus) tigrinus, recently established in North America, with a key to the genera and species of Rhopalidae...
Hoebeke E.R., Wheeler A.G., Jr. 1982. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 84: 213‒224.
6.Steill J., Meyer J. (2003) The Rhopalidae of Florida
7.Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects
Norman F. Johnson, Charles A. Triplehorn. 2004. Brooks Cole.
8.Bugs of the World
George C. McGavin. 1999. Blandford Press.