File: <phymatid.htm>
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Glossary <Principal
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HEMIPTERA, Phymatidae -- <Images> & <Juveniles> Description
These bugs are
group of small wide-bodied insects that have raptorial front legs. The front femora are short and as broad as
long. The tibiae are tiny and
curved. Most are about 3-4 cm. long,
but they are able to capture insects as large as bumble bees. They stalk them on flowers, mainly
goldenrod, where they are camouflaged by the plant color. Their prey includes wasps, large bees and
flies. Insects in the subfamily
Phymatinae are commonly called ambush bugs after their behavior of
stalking prey and relying on their camouflage. They have
raptorial forelegs with which they area able to capture prey 10 or more times
their own size. They belong to a subgroup within the assassin bugs. Phymatinae are 5.1–12.3
millimetres long. In Phymata, the scutellum is triangular and shorter
than the pronotum. In Macrocephalus the scutellum is narrow and
rounded and extends to the tip of the abdomen. These insects usually have a large
fore femur and clubbed antennae. The forewing membranes occasionally lack distinct cells The antennae have 4
segments, and there are two ocelli. The beak has 3 segments. The tarsi also
have 3 segments. The rear half of the abdomen extends beyond the edges of the
wings References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Weirauch, C. &
James B. Munro (2009). "Molecular
phylogeny of the assassin bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), based on
mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal genes". Molecular Phylogenetics
and Evolution 53 (1): 287–299. |