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Family Largidae - Bordered Plant Bugs

TINY SHINY BLACK BEETLE WITH WHITE STRIPE AROUND EDGE AND RED UNDERNEATH - Largus Shining Metalic Black to Blue Beetle with Red Crescent - Largus bug 4 - Arhaphe arguta Miridae from Tuscon Arizona - Largus sculptilis Largid? - Largus convivus UCSCFONR - Hemiptera 1 - Largus Largus succinctus first-instar nymphs on lettuce (used for article on rearing) - Largus succinctus Largus unidentified nymphs - Dorsal  - Largus
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 Pyrrhocoroidea
Family Largidae (Bordered Plant Bugs)
Other Common Names
Largid Bugs(1); Red Bugs and Ant Mimic Bugs(2)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
family in need of revision (papers by Bliven and Halstead caused confusion)(3)
Numbers
~20 spp. in 3 genera* in our area, ~190 spp. in 15 genera of 3 tribes in the New World (all in the Larginae)(4)(3), and ~200 spp. in 2 subfamilies worldwide
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*the species listed under Pararhaphe in (3) is now treated in Arhaphe(5)
Size
worldwide, up to 55 mm
Identification
Mostly stout-bodied, with no ocelli, and four-segmented rostrum(3); distinctive wing venation; Arhaphini are ant-like
Range
much of the world, mostly tropical; the nominate subfamily is restricted to the New World, another one, to the Old World(4); in our area, widespread in the US but by far more diverse in the south, esp. southwest(3)
Habitat
ground-dwelling or associated with the vegetative parts of forbs, shrubs and trees(6)
Food
seeds or plant juices(6)
Remarks
Mimicry and aposematism are common among this family(6)
Print References
Halstead T.F. (1972) Notes on the synonymy in Largus Hahn with a key to United States species. Pan-Pac. Entomol. 48: 246-248.
Internet References
Works Cited
1.How to Know the True Bugs
Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. 1978. Wm. C. Brown Company.
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
3.Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs of Canada and the Continental United States
Thomas J. Henry, Richard C. Froeschner. 1988. Brill Academic Publishers.
4.Revisión del género Largus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Largidae) para México
Carlos Rosas, Harry Brailovsky. 2016. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87, 347-375.
5.Redescription of Pararhaphe and review of Arhaphe (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Largidae) of America north of Mexico
Jaroslav L.Stehlik, Petr Kment. 2011. Zootaxa 3058: 35-54.
6.Zoological catalogue of Australia: Hemiptera: Heteroptera (Pentatomomorpha)
Cassis G., Gross G.F. 2002. CSIRO Publishing, 751 pp.
7.Australian Faunal Directory