{{Short description|Subfamily of true bugs}} {{redirect|Ambush bug|the fictional character|Ambush Bug}} {{automatic taxobox | taxon = Phymatinae | image = Ambushiki.JPG | image_caption = ''Phymata sp.'' | authority = Laporte, 1832 | subdivision_ranks = Tribes | subdivision = *Carcinocorini *Macrocephalini *Phymatini *Themonocorini }} alt=Ambush Bug (Phymata sp.)|thumb|Ambush bug (''Phymata'' sp.) Insects in the subfamily '''Phymatinae''' are commonly called '''ambush bugs''' after their habit of lying in wait for prey, relying on their superb camouflage. Armed with raptorial forelegs, ambush bugs routinely capture prey ten or more times their own size. They form a subgroup within the assassin bugs.
==Description== [[File:IC Phymata pennsylvanica.JPG|thumb|left|''Phymata pennsylvanica'']]
thumb|''Phymata'' sp. eggs thumb|right|Ambush bug nymph Phymatinae are {{convert|5|-|12|mm|abbr=on}} long. The most distinguishable trait of this group is the presence of pronounced raptorial forelegs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Masonick|first1=Paul|last2=Michael|first2=Amy|last3=Frankenberg|first3=Sarah|last4=Rabitsch|first4=Wolfgang|last5=Weirauch|first5=Christiane|date=1 September 2017|title=Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the ambush bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae)|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=114|pages=225–233|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.010|issn=1095-9513|pmid=28634150|doi-access=free}}</ref> In ''Phymata'', the scutellum is triangular and shorter than the pronotum. In ''Macrocephalus'', the scutellum is narrow and rounded, extending to the tip of the abdomen.<ref name="Arnett2000">{{cite book|author=Ross H. Arnett|title=American insects: a handbook of the insects of America north of Mexico|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKzAmSDdLtsC|access-date=31 March 2011|year=2000|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-8493-0212-1}}</ref>
Phymatinae normally have a large fore femur and clubbed antennae. The forewing membranes sometimes lack distinct cells.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heteroptera.ucr.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=83 |title=Phymatidae |publisher=University of California, Riverside |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131024535/http://www.heteroptera.ucr.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=83 |archive-date=2009-01-31 }}</ref>
The antennae have four segments. There are two ocelli. The beak has three segments. The tarsi also have three segments. The rear half of the abdomen expands beyond the edges of the wings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/foltz/eny3005/lab1/Hemiptera/Phymatid.htm |title=Phymatid |publisher=University of Florida |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727181353/http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/foltz/eny3005/lab1/hemiptera/Phymatid.htm |archive-date=2009-07-27 }}</ref>
Compared to classic assassin bugs, ambush bugs are shorter, stouter, more colorful, and have larger heads in proportion to their bodies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Assassin Bugs & Ambush Bugs of Kentucky - University of Kentucky Entomology|url=http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/bugs/assassin/assassin.htm|access-date=2020-11-28|website=www.uky.edu}}</ref> It is hypothesized that the coloration of these insects is an adaptation to allow them to camouflage within their environment, specifically an evolutionary effort to blend in with the flowers of their host plant.<ref name=":0" />
Ambush bugs can be found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions all over the world, excluding Australia and New Zealand.<ref name=":0" />
==Etymology== The name Phymatinae is derived from the Greek ''phymata'', meaning "swollen", which presumably refers to the enlarged abdomen and femora.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/phyma Phyma] at dictionary.com.</ref>
==Taxonomy== Ambush bugs are insects in the order Hemiptera, or "true bugs". They occupy the family Reduviidae, and form the subfamily Phymatinae. This subfamily was often given family-level status and this classification is still used in some textbooks. Based on cladistic analyses, however, ambush bugs (Phymatinae) are a type of assassin bug (Reduviidae).<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Annalen des K.K. Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums|author2=Austria)|volume=12|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4075088|author=Handlirsch, A.|year=1897|pages=127–230| title=Monographie der Phymatiden}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Christiane Weirauch & James B. Munro |year=2009 |title=Molecular phylogeny of the assassin bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), based on mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal genes |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=287–299 |pmid=19531379 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2009.05.039}}</ref> Approximately 300 species have been documented, and they are a sister group of the Holoptilinae.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Weirauch|first1=Christiane|last2=Forero|first2=Dimitri|last3=Jacobs|first3=Dawid H.|date=2011|title=On the evolution of raptorial legs - an insect example (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae)|journal=Cladistics|language=en|volume=27|issue=2|pages=138–149|doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.2010.00325.x|pmid=34875772 |s2cid=85020081 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The genera of ambush bugs are separated into four tribes, but this separation is based purely on phenotypic similarities rather than molecular data. The exact relationships between different groups of Phymatinae are understudied, and there are likely species yet to be discovered.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Boyle|first1=Julia|last2=Start|first2=Denon|date=2020|title=Plasticity and habitat choice match colour to function in an ambush bug|journal=Functional Ecology|language=en|volume=34|issue=4|pages=822–829|doi=10.1111/1365-2435.13528|s2cid=214302722 |issn=1365-2435|doi-access=free}}</ref> thumb|''Amblythyreus'' cf. ''intermedius'' from India
The Phymatinae are currently separated into four tribes:<ref>[https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id73234/ Biolib.cz: Phymatinae Laporte, 1832]</ref><ref>{{ITIS |id=721744 |taxon=Phymatinae}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.010|pmid=28634150|title=Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the ambush bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae)|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=114|pages=225–233|year=2017|last1=Masonick|first1=Paul|last2=Michael|first2=Amy|last3=Frankenberg|first3=Sarah|last4=Rabitsch|first4=Wolfgang|last5=Weirauch|first5=Christiane|doi-access=free}}</ref> ;Carcinocorini {{Au|Handlirsch, 1897}} Includes: *''Carcinocoris'' {{Au|Handlirsch, 1897}} ;Macrocephalini {{Au|Handlirsch, 1897}} *''Amblythyreus'' {{Au|Westwood, 1841}} *''Lophoscutus'' {{Au|Kormilev, 1951}} *''Macrocephalus'' <small>Swederus, 1787</small> *''Oxythyreus'' {{Au|Westwood, 1841}} ===Phymatini=== Auth. Laporte, 1832; all genera: # ''Anthylla (beetle)'' {{Au|Stål, 1876}} # ''Kelainocoris'' {{Au|Kormilev, 1963}} # ''Neoanthylla'' {{Au|Kormilev, 1951}} # ''Paraphymata'' {{Au|Kormilev, 1962}} # ''Phymata'' {{Au|Latreille, 1802}}
===Themonocorini=== Auth. Carayon, Usinger & Wygodzinsky, 1958 # ''Themonocoris'' {{Au|Carayon, Usinger & Wygodzinsky, 1958}} # †''Koenigsbergia'' {{Au|Popov, 2003}}
== Behaviour == Ambush bugs occupy a similar niche to that of the crab spider, camouflaged with their host plant and lying in wait for pollinators and other invertebrate prey to come within range. These hemipterans often attack prey many times larger than themselves, which they subdue with an immobilizing venom.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ambush Bugs|url=https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/ambush-bugs|access-date=2020-11-28|website=MDC Discover Nature|language=en}}</ref><gallery mode="packed"> File:Ambush bug catch attempt.webm|Adult ''Phymata'' sp. attempting its lie in wait technique to ambush a syrphid fly (''Orthonevra nitida'') and a ''Halictus'' bee File:Ambush bug Catch Halictus.webm|Adult ''Phymata'' sp. catches a ''Halictus'' bee. File:Ambush bug catch honeybee.webm|Adult ''Phymata'' sp. catches a much larger honey bee. File:Ambush bug mating attempt334.webm|Ambush bugs attempting mating </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Commonscat|Phymatinae}} {{Wikispecies|Phymatinae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3436499}}
Category:Reduviidae Category:Hemiptera subfamilies