Burrower Bugs (Cydnidae)

Abstract

AbstractBurrower 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 identification key for subfamilies and genera with the characterization of the commonest species.KeywordsMaternal CareConventional TillageLight TrapAnterior TibiaNeotropical RegionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.