Arachnocoris

Arachnocoris is a small genus of true bugs found in the Neotropics.

Arachnocoris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Nabidae
Subfamily: Nabinae
Genus: Arachnocoris
Scott, 1881
Diversity
c. 12 species

It is often found living in the webs of the pholcid spider Mesabolivar aurantiacus (Mello-Leitão, 1930).[1] It seems to prefer empty webs, possibly utilizing them as a ready-made prey-capture device, and possibly as a site for finding mates.

Members of this genus are often found living in spider web, mostly those of the family Pholcidae. The body of Arachnocoris is adapted for life in spider webs, with white markings on dark ground, similar to the kleptoparasitic spider genus Argyrodes.[1]

Species
  • Arachnocoris albomaculatus Scott, 1881
  • Arachnocoris trinitatis Bergroth, 1914—Trinidad
  • Arachnocoris karukerae Lopez, 1990—French Antilles
  • Arachnocoris berytoides Say

Taxonomy

John Scott described two new species in this genus in 1881, which was originally placed in a distinct subgenus by Reuter. This was rejected in 1908, when the discovery of Parachnocoris connected Arachnocoris with the more typical members of the subfamily Nabinae. By 1925, six species were recognized, ranging from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Panama, Trinidad and Grenada (West Indies).[2] Today, Arachnocoris and Pararachnocoris are placed in the highly specialized neotropical tribus "Arachnocorini". About a dozen species are recognized as of 2007, while Pararachnocoris is monotypic.[3]

Footnotes
  1. Sewlal & Starr 2008
  2. Myers 1925
  3. Kuznetsova et al. 2007

References
  • Myers, J.G. (1925): Biological notes on Arachnocoris albomaculatus Scott (Hemiptera; Nabidae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 33(3): 136–146.
  • Kuznetsova, Valentina G.; Grozeva, Snejana; Sewlal, Jo-Anne N. & Nokkala, Seppo (2007): Cytogenetic Characterization of the Trinidad Endemic, Arachnocoris trinitatus Bergroth: the First Data for the Tribe Arachnocorini (Heteroptera: Cimicimorpha: Nabidae). Folia biologica 55(1-2): 17–26. PDF
  • Sewlal, Jo-Anne N. & Starr, Christopher K. (2008): Observations of the insect Arachnocoris trinitatis (Heteroptera: Nabidae) as an inquiline of the spider Mesabolivar aurantiacus (Araneae: Pholcidae). Caribbean Journal of Science 44(1): 132–135. PDF
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