The Pentatomidae, representing the fourth largest family within Heteroptera, are one of the most diverse groups with about 800 genera and more than 4,700 species in the world. In the Neotropics, about 230 genera and 1,400 species are included in seven subfamilies of the world's nine subfamilies; four subfamilies are exclusively of the Neotropics. In this chapter, for each subfamily, a diagnosis, an overview of the classifi cation, and information on life history, ecology, and economic importance are given. Comprehensive keys and diagnosis to the subfamilies, tribes, and genera for the Neotropical Region, including Mexico, Central and South America, and the West Indies, are also given.

The present work brings together the dispersed information on the Neotropical genus Chloropepla. It was established in 1867 by Stål and reviewed in 1968 by Grazia; since the revision, ten new species have been added. In this work a cladistic analysis of the species of Chloropepla is presented. The monophyly of the genus was confirmed. Three monophyletic groups of species were identified: clade A (C. rideri sp.n., C. paveli, C. vigens, C. luteipennis), clade B (C. costaricensis sp.n., C. aurea and C. pirani) and clade C (C. dollingi, C. tucuriuensis, C. stysi, C. caxiuanensis sp.n. and C. rolstoni). An extended description of the genus and diagnoses for the species are provided. Three new species from Costa Rica, Venezuela and Brazil are described extending the northern distribution of the genus into Central America. A key to the species is also provided.

Pentatomidae is the third largest family of true bugs, comprising over 40 tribes. Few tribes have been studied in a phylogenetic context, and none of them have been examined using molecular data. Moreover, little is known about the evolution of key morphological characters widely used in taxonomic and phylogenetic studies at multiple levels. Here, we conduct a phylogenetic study of the tribe Chlorocorini (Pentatominae) combining 69 morphological characters and five DNA loci. We use the inferred phylogeny to reconstruct the evolution of key morphological characters such as the spined humeral angles of the pronotum, a dorsal projection on the apices of the femora and characters of male genitalia. We provide solid evidence that the tribe as currently recognized is not monophyletic based both on DNA and morphological data. The genera Arvelius Spinola and Eludocoris Thomas were consistently placed outside of the Chlorocorini, whereas the remaining genera were found to form a monophyletic group. We also show that nearly all morphological diagnostic characters for the tribe are homoplastic. The only exception is the development of the hypandrium, which contrary to expectations for genital traits, showed the slowest evolutionary rates. In contrast, the most rapidly evolving trait is the length of the ostiolar ruga, which may be attributed to selection favouring anti‐predatory behaviour and other functions of its associated scent glands. Lastly, we also provide a preliminary glimpse of the main phylogenetic relationships within the Pentatomidae, which indicates that most of the included subfamilies and tribes are not monophyletic. Our results suggest that the current subfamily‐level classification of Pentatomidae is not adequate to reflect its evolutionary history, and we urge for a more complete phylogeny of the family.

IMMATURES STAGES OF OEBALUS POECILUS (HETEROPTERA, PENTATOMIDAE).The immature stages of the rice bug Oebalus poecilus (Dallas, 1851) are described. The egg and the external morphological characters of the five nymphal stages were described and illustrated. The nymphs were exposed to two different photoperiods to induce seasonal forms to detect morphological differences.KEYWORDS. Oebalus, morphology, nymphs, rice, Pentatomini. INTRODUÇÃOO estudo dos estágios imaturos de insetos tem importância taxonômica, ecológica e econômica. O conhecimento das formas jovens permite o diagnóstico precoce e correto de infestações por pragas e proporciona uma maior eficiência das medidas de controle, já que as formas jovens são mais suscetíveis a produtos químicos, a predadores e parasitos (BRAILOVSKY et al., 1992).Oebalus poecilus (Dallas, 1851) é uma das principais pragas de arroz do Brasil (SQUIRE, 1934;AMARAL, 1949). Segundo ALBUQUERQUE (1993), seu ciclo de vida é sincrônico com o das suas plantas hospedeiras: durante o inverno, quando o recurso não está disponível, o inseto entra em estado de dormência, voltando ao estado ativo quando as condições tornam-se favoráveis. Seu sucesso como praga de arroz irrigado está intimamente ligado a este processo, já que o cultivo ocorre justamente durante a fase ativa de O. poecilus. VECCHIO et al. (1994) citaram O. poecilus entre as quatro espécies de Pentatomidae que possuem dimorfismo sazonal determinado pelo fotoperíodo, ao descreverem a mesma característica para O. ypsilongriseus (De Geer, 1773