The Reduviidae are a large, cosmopolitan, and morphologically diverse family of predatory true bugs. They include assassin bugs (genera include Melanolestes, Psellipus, Rasahus, Reduvius, Rhiginia, Sinea, and Zelus), wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus), kissing bugs (species of Triatoma, Rhodnius and Panstrongylus), ambush bugs (genera Apiomerus and Phymata), and thread-legged bugs (the subfamily Emesinae, including the genus Emesaya).
Taxonomy
In 1843, Amyot and Serville recognized the reduvids as a discrete group. In its present systematic organization, the large family Reduviidae contains around 25 subfamilies, about 930 genera and 6800 species. Composition of subfamilies and relationships between them remain unsettled. Subfamilies Harpactocorinae (about 2,000 species), Reduviinae (about 1,000 species), Emesinae (about 900 species), Stenopodinae (more than 700 species) and Ectenodeminae (more than 600 species) together total more than 80% of known reduviid species. An additional five...
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References
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Ribes, E., Goula, M., JeremÍas, X. (2008). Assassin Bugs, Kissing Bugs and Others (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). In: Capinera, J.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_10368
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_10368
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