Miridae
Encyclopedia
The large and diverse insect family Miridae contains the plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs, and may also be known as capsid bugs. It is the largest family of true bugs belonging to the suborder Heteroptera
Heteroptera
Heteroptera is a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the Hemiptera. Sometimes called "true bugs", that name more commonly refers to Hemiptera as a whole, and "typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal alternative since among the Hemiptera the heteropterans are most consistently and...

, with over 10,000 known species and new ones constantly being described. They are small, terrestrial insects, usually oval-shaped or elongate and measuring less than 12 millimetre (0.47244094488189 in) in length. Some are brightly coloured, others drab or dark. Some genera are ant mimic
Mimic
In evolutionary biology, mimicry is the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both. This similarity can be in appearance, behaviour, sound, scent and even location, with the mimics found in similar places to their models....

s at certain stages of life. Most of the more well-known mirids have received attention because they are agricultural pests. They pierce plant tissues and feed on the juices.

Some mirid species:
  • Lygus bugs
    Lygus
    The genus Lygus includes over 40 species of plant-feeding insects in the family Miridae. At one time, nearly 200 species were classified as genus Lygus, but most of those have since been reclassified into new or existing genera. The term lygus bug is used for any member of genus Lygus. The more...

     (Lygus spp.), including the tarnished and western tarnished plant bugs, are serious pests in the cotton, strawberry
    Strawberry
    Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...

    , and alfalfa
    Alfalfa
    Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...

     industries.
  • Stenotus binotatus
    Stenotus binotatus
    Stenotus binotatus is a species of plant bug, originally from Europe, but now also established across North America and New Zealand. It is long, yellowish, with darker markings on the pronotum and forewings...

    , a minor pest of cereal crops, especially wheat
    Wheat
    Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

  • Apple dimpling bug (Campylomma liebknechti) damages apple
    Apple
    The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

     blossoms and small growing fruits.
  • Mosquito bugs Helopeltis spp. - that infest various crops including tea
    Tea
    Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

    , cacao and cotton
    Cotton
    Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

  • Honeylocust plant bug (Diaphnocoris chlorionis) damages foliage on honeylocust
    Honey locust
    The Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, is a deciduous tree native to central North America. It is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys ranging from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as eastern Massachusetts.-Description:Honey locusts, Gleditsia...

     trees.
  • Green mirid (Creontiades dilutus) damages many types of field crops.
  • Potato mirid (Calocoris norvegicus) is a noted pest of potato
    Potato
    The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

     and clover
    Clover
    Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...

     plants in New Zealand
    New Zealand
    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

    .
  • Deraeocoris nebulosus prefers other insects to plants in its diet, and has been used as a biocontrol agent
    Biological pest control
    Biological control of pests in agriculture is a method of controlling pests that relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms...

     against mite
    Mite
    Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...

    s and scale insect
    Scale insect
    The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...

    s.

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