Burrower Bugs (Cydnidae)

Abstract

Burrower bugs are typical pentatomoid insects, small to medium in size, recognized by the morphological adaptations for digging. However, some cydnids live aboveground or on vegetation, feeding on falling seeds or even plant tissues.The family has a worldwide distribution, being well represented in tropical and temperate regions, known in the fossil record since at least the Late Cretaceous. Cydnidae includes more than 750 species in 93 genera, divided in six subfamilies. In the Neotropical region, 145 species are recorded and included in the subfamilies Amnestinae (38 spp.), Cephalocteinae (eight), Cydninae (97), and Sehirinae (one). The monophyly of the Cydnidae and phylogenetic relationships with other pentatomoid families are still controversial. Among the subfamilies, only Cephalocteinae has a strong support in a phylogenetic context. Burrower bugs are phytophagous and seem to be polyphagous, and although the group has been considered of little economic importance, damage to crops in the Neotropical region has been growing in the last 15 years. Because of the burrowing habits and small size of most of the species, people unnoticed its presence, limiting taxonomic characterization, host plants records, as well as damage and symptoms to cultivated plants. In this chapter, an overview of the group in the Neotropical region is presented, including an identifi cation key for subfamilies and genera with the characterization of the commonest species.

Burrowing bugs of the genus Scaptocoris Perty in Colombia (Heteroptera: Cydnidae)

“…Other crops affected in Brazil and Argentina include cotton, rice, beans, corn, sugarcane, tomato and pepper (Becker ; Lis et al . ), although it mostly affects crops in the Fabaceae and Poaceae (Schwertner & Nardi ). S .…”

“…Some Scaptocoris species can be serious pests when attacking roots of various crops such as sugarcane, rice, soybean, Brachiaria , potatoes and tomatoes (Lis et al . ; Schwertner & Nardi ). Control of Scaptocoris pest species does not require identification of the species, given that it is carried out mostly with insecticides (e.g.…”

“…Scaptocorini thus comprise Scaptocoris Perty (seven species from the Neotropics and one from Australia), Atarsocoris (one species from Brazil), Stibaporus Dallas (15 species from the Old World) and Pseudostibaporus Lis, 1991 (one species from the Oriental Region) (Lis ,a; Grazia et al . ; Schwertner & Nardi ).…”

“…). Thyreocoridae have a large scutellum, covering most of the hemelytra (Matesco & Grazia ), whereas in Cydnidae, the scutellum is not as large and much of the hemelytra are exposed (Schwertner & Nardi ; Rider et al . ).…”

“…In the Neotropics, Cydnidae comprise four subfamilies: Amnestinae, Cydninae, Cephalocteinae and Sehirinae (Froeschner ; Schwertner & Nardi ; Rider et al . ).…”