The genital capsule of the alydidae (Hemiptera : Heteroptera : Coreoidea)

Abstract

I studied the alydid genital capsule to discover characters useful in establishing the relationships of the Alydidae with other families, and in separating the subfamilies and tribes of the Alydidae. The Alydidae share several features of the capsule with the Rhopalidae and, to a lesser extent, certain Coreidae. The Alydidae also possess some features of their own: a (usually) paired 9th tergal remnant, a slight excision of the ventral rim, no infolded dorsal rim, and no setiferous ridge externally; but these may not be apomorphies. The subfamily Micrelytrinae is characterized by a spurlike extension of the ventral rim; other structural details of the capsule separate the Micrelytrinae and the Leptocorisinae, but none clearly delimits the Alydiae. The homologies of the dorsal wall's sclerites and membranes are discussed at length, as are other aspects of the capsule's structures.