Scientific name Berytidae Order True bugs | Superfamily Lygaeoidea Rank Family | |
Similar True bugs, Aradidae, Insect, Acanthosomatidae, Piesmatidae | ||
Berytidae is a family of the order Hemiptera ("true bugs") commonly called stilt bugs or thread bugs.
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Description
The Berytidae are extremely gracile insects with legs so long and slender as to suggest common names such as "thread bugs" and "stilt bugs". In this they resemble the Emesinae, with which they are easily confused, though they are in different families. They may be distinguished most readily by the forelegs, that in the Emesinae are raptorial in a way resembling those of the Mantodea, Mantispidae and certain other invertebrate predators. In form and function the forelegs of the Berytidae are roughly similar to those of their other legs. Other differences are subtler and not fully consistent. For one thing, the antennae of most Berytidae though long, geniculate, and in other ways generally similar to Emesinae, tend to have a more or less obvious swelling at the tip. Some members of the family also have slight swellings at the distal ends of the femora of their legs, though in many species this either absent or not obvious.
Biology
The habits of most species are not well known. Most are believed to be sap-suckers like most other Hemiptera, but some also feed on mites and small insects.
Taxonomy
One common genus in this family is Neides.
