Scutellerinae
Creators: name: Gerry Cassis
name: Loren Vanags
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Scutelleridae

description: Subfamily Scutellerinae
Pentatomidae, Scutellerina, Scutelleraria STÅL 1872: 32 (new suprageneric taxon) Pentatomidae, Scutellerinae, Scutelleraria: SCHOUTEDEN 1904: 13 (description) Pentatomidae, Scutellerinae, Scutellerini: KIRKALDY 1909: 289 (catalogue) Pentatomidae, Scutellerinae, Scutellerini: LESTON 1952d: 13 (new suprageneric classification) Scutelleridae, Scutellerinae: MCDONALD 1966: 67, 68 (new suprageneric classification) Scutelleridae, Scutellerinae: MCDONALD & CASSIS 1984: 550 (Australia)
Diagnosis: The Scutellerinae are recog-nised by the following combination charac-ters: small (e.g., Figs 24b, 37) to very large body (e.g., Figs 19 a-d, 28a); ovoid (e.g., Figs 24b, 37) to elongate-ovoid (Figs 28a, b), sometimes strongly tapered towards terminalia; body weakly (e.g., Fig. 28a) to heavily punctate (Figs 24a, c-f); body brilliant, aposematically coloured, often with iridescent blue, green, orange colouration, often with contrasting markings (e.g., Figs 19 a-d, 24a, c-f, 28a-e); head subtriangular to suboval (e.g., Fig. 31a); thoracic sterna flat (e.g., Figs 20c, 29c, 31c); anterior margin of proepisternum weakly explanate (e.g., Figs 20c, 31c); efferent system of metathoracic glands well-developed (e.g., Figs 20d, 25d, 31d); peritreme mostly subreniform (e.g., Figs 20d, 39d, 42d), sometimes large, subtriangular (e.g., Figs 25d, 29d), or obovate (e.g., Figs 31d, 38c); males without abdominal androconial or setose sternal glands; pregenital abdomen in both sexes without stridulatory vittae; ventral surface of pygophore caudally (e.g., Figs 32 a-h) or ventrally oriented (e.g., Figs 29e, 30e); parameres hook-shaped (e.g., Figs 22b, 40b); ejaculatory apparatus usually well-developed, with convoluted ventral conducting canal and oval to subelliptoid ejaculatory reservoir (e.g., Figs 30c, d, 36c, d, 40c, d); CAI usually absent, rarely present (e.g., Figs 22c, d); CAII usually bifurcate, with lobal sclerites (e.g., Figs 22c, d, 36c, d, 40c, d), CAIII undivided, often U-shaped (e.g., Figs 26d, 30d, 43d) or divided (e.g., Figs 22c, d); spermathecal fecundation canal short or long; and, spermathecal reservoir oval.
Remarks: There is no unique character state defining the Scutellerinae, and most of the above-mentioned features are also true for the family. They are the most brilliantly coloured of all the scutellerids, but numerous Pachycorinae also exhibit colouration consistent with models of warning colouration. The male and female genitalia are also similar to taxa in other scutellerid subfamilies, such as the Elvisurinae and Sphaerocorinae, although the development of the ventral conducting canal of the ejaculatory apparatus is putatively greatest in the scutellerines, such as in Cantao parentum (Figs 30c, d). Many species have a U-shaped, and basally fused CAIII (e.g., Figs 26d, 30d, 43d), but there are significant variations, particularly in Calliphara (Fig. 22d). Scutellerines can be separated from the Pachycorinae, and Odon-totarsinae + Tectocorinae, in lacking stridulatory vittae and androconial/setose sternal glands respectively. They can be separated from the Elvisurinae, Odontotarsinae and Sphaerocorinae superficially by their aposematic colouration (cf. dull colouration), although even in the latter subfamily some taxa exhibit moderately striking colouration, as in Sphaerocoris BURMEISTER.
SCHUH & SLATER (1995) adopted LESTON’ s (1952d) definition of the Scutellerinae (including the Elvisurinae and Sphaerocorinae), but on the basis of the emarginate abdominal sterna (recurved anteriorly) and the presence of two intervannal veins in the hindwing. Neither of these characters is considered exclusive to this conception of the taxon. We have retained the scutellerines in the narrow sense, despite it being a ‘convenience’ group, as it helps in distinguishing the colourful Australian scutellerid species, pending a more in-depth review of the issue.
description: Published as part of Gerry Cassis & Loren Vanags, 2006, Jewel Bugs of Australia (Insecta, Heteroptera, Scutelleridae), pp. 275-398 in Denisia 19 on pages 332-334, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12996779