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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Pentatomomorpha » Leatherbugs (Coreoidea) » Leaf-footed Bugs (Coreidae) » Coreinae » Acanthocephalini » Acanthocephala

Genus Acanthocephala

Representative Images

Acanthocephala - Acanthocephala femorata - male Acanthocephala terminalis - Acanthocephala Coreid nymph - Acanthocephala terminalis Coreidae - Acanthocephala terminalis Acanthocephala declivis? - Acanthocephala declivis Nov. 2020 Indianapolis - Acanthocephala terminalis 2nd instar leaf-footed bug nymph - Anterior - Acanthocephala declivis Acanthocephala terminalis maturing egg showing details of nymph (used for article on rearing) - Acanthocephala terminalis

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 Coreidae (Leaf-footed Bugs)
Subfamily Coreinae
Tribe Acanthocephalini
Genus Acanthocephala

Other Common Names

Big-footed or Big-legged Plant Bugs, Spine-headed Bugs

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

our fauna reviewed in(1) (A. alata is mentioned but not covered there)

Explanation of Names

Acanthocephala LaPorte 1833
Greek akanth- 'thorn/spine' + kephale 'head' (refers to the spine on the front of the head)
Acanthocephala is also a phylum of parasitic worms

Numbers

5 spp. in our area; 27 total(2)

Size

20-30 mm

Identification

Large, dark brown to black; tylus laterally flattened and prominently pointed.
Any Acanthocephala found north of NC-OK is likely to be A. terminalis (although A. declivis seems to be extending its range north).
Note: In states other than AZ, CA, FL, GA, and TX there are only three species to choose from. They may be eliminated easily if compared in this order: A. declivis has a distinctive right-angled hind leg flange and broad pronotum, A. femorata has uniformly red antennae, and A. terminalis has red-tipped antennae.
  
Left to right: A. alata, A. declivis, A. femorata, A. terminalis, A. thomasi

Range

New World, mostly neotropical(2); in our area, e. NA & so. US as follows:
A. alata TX (BG data; no published records?)
A. declivis VA-FL to MO-AR-AZ(1)
A. femorata NC-FL to KS-TX(1)
A. terminalis ON-FL to NE-CO-TX(1)(3)
A. thomasi CA-TX(1)

Habitat

Deciduous forests, fields, etc.

Remarks

our only representative of the New World tribe Acanthocephalini Stål 1870, that contains ~100 spp. in 15 genera(2)

See Also

Leptoglossus (metatibial expansion generally shorter and often wider)
Piezogaster

Works Cited

1.Review of Acanthocephala (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae) of America north of Mexico with a key to species
McPherson J.E., Packauskas R.J., Sites R.W., Taylor S.J., Bundy C.S., Bradshaw J.D., Mitchell P.L. 2011. Zootaxa 2835: 30-40.
2.Livermore L.J.R., Lemaître V.A., Dolling W.R., Webb M.D. Coreoidea species file online. Version 5.0
3.Checklist of the Hemiptera of Canada and Alaska
Maw, H.E.L., R.G. Foottit, K.G.A. Hamilton and G.G.E. Scudder. 2000. NRC Research Press.
Contributed by Cotinis on 14 March, 2004 - 8:23pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Robin McLeod, Mike Quinn, drswanny, v belov, KenW, PaleoJon
Last updated 19 August, 2020 - 9:07pm

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