Tessaratomidae

Tessaratomidae is a family of true bugs. It contains about 240 species of large bugs divided into 3 subfamilies and 56 genera.

Tessaratomids resemble large stink bugs (family Pentatomidae) and are sometimes quite colorful. Most tessaratomids are Old World, with only three species known from the Neotropics. Some members of Tessaratomidae exhibit maternal care of eggs and offspring. The defensive chemicals of certain species can cause significant damage if they come into contact with human skin; they may also cause temporary blindness.

All species are exclusively plant-eaters, some of major economic importance as agricultural pests. A few species are also consumed as human food in some countries.

Larger species of Tessaratomidae are known informally as giant shield bugs, giant stink bugs, or inflated stink bugs,[1] but they generally do not have a collective common name and are referred to mostly as tessaratomids.

Tessaratomids are ovate to elongate-ovate bugs. They range in size from the smallest members of the tribe Sepinini at 6 to 7 mm (0.24 to 0.28 in),[2] to the large Amissus atlas of tribe Tessaratomini at 43 to 45 mm (1.7 to 1.8 in).[3] They are generally quite large and usually exceed 15 mm (0.59 in) in length.[4]

The head of tessaratomids is generally small and triangular, with the antennae having 4 to 5 segments (though some of them, for example Siphnus, have relatively large heads). The scutellum (Latin for 'little shield', the hard extension of the thorax covering the abdomen in hemipterans) is triangular and does not cover the leathery middle section of the forewing but is often partially covered by the prothorax. The tarsi (the final segments of the legs) have 2 to 3 segments.[5] They are most reliably distinguished from pentatomids by having six exposed abdominal spiraclesinstead of five.

Two bronze orange bugs (Musgraveia sulciventris) mating.
Life cycle of the bronze orange bug (Musgraveia sulciventris)
Small flattened ovoid bug wandering on a twig. Empty eggs lie below them with holes at the tops.
An oval dorsoventrally flattened nymph of the bronze orange bug on a citrus leaf.
A bronze orange bug clinging to the underside of an orange leaf. The shape of its body is distinctly shield-like.
Left: A cluster of bronze orange bug eggs. You can make out the embryos through the clear egg membranes, as well as the small ring of micropylar processes on each egg. The second egg from the bottom right is unfertilized and remains a murky green; Center left: Nymphs emerging from the eggs. Early instars of bronze orange bugs are bright green in color; Center right: A fourth or fifth instar nymph resting on a citrus leaf. It is now brilliantly orange in color with black margins and a small black dot at the center of its body; Right: An adult bronze orange bug on the underside of a citrus leaf. The adults are much drabber in color than the nymphs. Below it is also a green third instar nymph
A distinctly rectangular and dorsoventrally flattened nymph crawling on some mossy twigs.
The brilliantly colored and strangely shaped nymphs of Pycanum rubens bear little resemblance to the adults.
An assassin bug walking on a fine metal mesh.
Two small wasps rest on the nearby plant stalks while several more are emerging from the host eggs.
Left: The Australian common assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis is a predator of the bronze orange bug Musgraveia sulciventris.
Right: Parasitoid wasps of the genus Trissolcus emerging from the eggs of a pentatomid, Graphosoma italicum.
Edible stink bugs (Encosternum delegorguei) are harvested during early morning. They are placed in a bucket with a small amount of warm water and agitated to release their unpalatable defensive chemicals.[22]
Edible stink bugs (Encosternum delegorguei) being sorted after they had been boiled and dried.[22]