Gelastocoridae

Taxobox
name = Toad bugs

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image_caption = Gelastocoridae at the edge of the Eel River, California
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Hemiptera
subordo = Heteroptera
infraordo = Nepomorpha
familia = Gelastocoridae
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Gelastocoris"
"Nerthra"

The Gelastocoridae (toad bugs) is a family of about 100 species of insects in the suborder Heteroptera. They are reminiscent of toads both in their warty appearance and hopping movement. They are riparian insects, generally found at the margins of streams and ponds, where they are predators of small insects. Gelastocoridae catch their prey by leaping on top of them and grasping them with their modified front legs Borror DJ, Tripplehorn CA, Johnson NF (1989) An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th edition. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. New York. pg 213] . Members of the family are found throughout the world, but their highest diversity is in the tropics [Resh VH, Cardé RT (2003) Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pg 956] .

Diagnostic Characteristics

Gelastocoridae are short (6-15mm long) and stoat, with large protuberant eyes and cryptic coloration. Like other Heteroptera, they have hemelytra for their forewings and piercing-sucking mouthparts. Their antennae are hidden.

References