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Abstract

Reduviidae (assassin bugs) is the second largest family of the hemipteran suborder Heteroptera (true bugs). The family contains 25 subfamilies, the largest number amongst true bugs, and 28 tribes. Most previously published keys do not include all recognized subfamilies and even complete keys lead to incorrect identifi cation of certain taxa. We here present a comprehensive and well-illustrated identifi cation key to subfamilies and tribes (except Emesinae) of Reduviidae. The key is complemented by taxon treatments that provide, for each subfamily, diagnostic features, notes on taxonomy and distribution, a comment on taxa occurring in Canada, natural history notes, and a short bibliography.

Unique Fine Morphology of Mouthparts in Haematoloecha nigrorufa (Stål) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Adapted to Millipede Feeding

“…This cleaning of the body is essential in view of the fact that millipedes, which are preys of these insects, discharge a variety of defensive repellant secretions. The labium of H. nigrorufa consists of three visible segments; but, the two subfamilies Hammacerinae and Centrocneminae with four-segmented labia in Reduviidae [42,43,[58][59][60]. In most Reduviidae the first segment is deemed to be either lost or fused to the head capsule [43], which suggested that the four-segmented labium in Hammacerinae is plesiomorphic and homologous to those of non-reduviid Cimicomorpha Weirauch [43].…”

“…In most Reduviidae the first segment is deemed to be either lost or fused to the head capsule [43], which suggested that the four-segmented labium in Hammacerinae is plesiomorphic and homologous to those of non-reduviid Cimicomorpha Weirauch [43]. In most taxa of Heteroptera, the labium is four-segmented, and this feature is used in the classification of the true bug taxa [43,48,60]. The labium of H. nigrorufa generally is similar to those of other reduviid species in the number of segments and membrane connections between them.…”

First record of Microtomus luctuosus (Stål) (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Hammacerinae) in Honduras

“…Microtomus luctuosus (Stål, 1854) is one of a dozen species within the genus Microtomus Illiger, 1807, which belongs to the subfamily Hammacerinae (=Microtominae) of the Reduviidae and is restricted to the New World (Weirauch et al 2014;Gil-Santana et al 2015;van der Heyden 2019).…”

Uncovering hidden biodiversity: phylogeny and taxonomy of Physoderinae (Reduviidae, Heteroptera), with emphasis on Physoderes Westwood in the Oriental and Australasian regions

“…In contrast, the physoderine fauna of Madagascar and the nearby Comoros Islands (11 genera with 29 spp. ;Villiers 1962) shows considerable morphological diversity, with some taxa resembling assassin bugs in other subfamilies, such as Tribelocephaloides Villiers, 1962 andMimoelasmodema Villiers, 1962, that superficially resemble Tribelocephalini (in the subfamily Ectrichodiinae) and Elasmodeminae, respectively (Villiers 1962;Weirauch et al 2014;Forthman & Weirauch 2017;Fig. 2).…”

“…The reduviid subfamily Physoderinae is among the lesser-known groups of assassin bugs due to cryptic habits, restriction of most species to apparently small endemic ranges in wet-tropical areas of the Old and New Worlds, and the overall small number of genera and species compared to other reduviid subfamilies (Rédei 2012;Weirauch et al 2014): only 70 species classified into 15 genera are described to date (Maldonado 1990;Weirauch 2006;Davranoglou 2014;Davranoglou et al 2015). All members are small, rarely collected, feature subtle hues of brown and dirty yellow that allow them to blend into leaf litter and decaying wood, and many species share a somewhat dorsoventrally flattened, compact body shape and relatively short, heavily armored legs (Fig.…”