Plataspidae

Definition

A family of shield bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) characterized by a greatly enlarged, often rounded scutellum that covers most of the abdomen and wings, giving the body a compact, shield-like appearance. Native to the Old World, particularly diverse in tropical and subtropical Asia and Africa.

Etymology

From Greek platays 'broad' or 'flat', referring to the flattened, shield-like body form.

Example

Coptosoma scutellatum, a European plataspid, exhibits the family's diagnostic enlarged scutellum that completely conceals the corium and membrane of the hemelytra.

Related Terms

• Heteroptera
• Pentatomoidea
• scutellum
• shield bug
• Cydnidae
• Acanthosomatidae

Usage Notes

Plataspidae are distinguished from the superficially similar Pentatomidae (stink bugs) by the extreme development of the scutellum, which in many species forms a complete shell over the abdomen. The family is sometimes treated as a subfamily (Plataspinae) within Cydnidae in older classifications, but molecular and morphological evidence supports family rank. Species are typically associated with leguminous host plants.