Environmental-symbiont-acquisition

Guides

• Pyrrhocoroidea

  Red and Bordered Plant Bugs, Red Cotton Bugs

  Pyrrhocoroidea is a superfamily of true bugs comprising approximately 520 species in two families: Pyrrhocoridae (red bugs, ~300 species) and Largidae (bordered plant bugs, ~220 species). Members are primarily herbivorous, with many species exhibiting bright red or orange coloration. The superfamily is distinguished by specific bacterial symbiont associations, particularly Burkholderia in Largidae, which are acquired environmentally each generation rather than transmitted maternally. Pyrrhocoroidea represents the earliest-diverging superfamily of Burkholderia-associated Hemiptera.

  HemipteraPentatomomorphaherbivorousbacterial-symbiosisBurkholderiaenvironmental-symbiont-acquisitionseed-feedingsap-feedingaposematic-colorationagricultural-pest