Arilus Explained

Arilus, or wheel bugs due to the semicircular crest on the pronotum,^{[1] [2] [3]} is a genus of true bugs in the family Reduviidae, subfamily Harpactorinae and tribe Harpactorini. Most species are found in the Americas.^[4] Arilus is a generalist predator of insects.

See North American wheel bug for details about a representative species.

Species

Five extant species plus one fossil species are included within this genus:^[5]

• Arilus carinatus (Forster, 1771)
• Arilus cristatus (Linnaeus, 1763) the North American wheel bug
• Arilus depressicollis (Stål, 1859)
• †Arilus faujasi Riou, 1999
• Arilus gallus (Stål, 1872)
• Arilus nigriceps Herrich-Schaeffer, 1848

Three additional species originally described in the genus are currently incertae sedis.^[5]

• Arilus auctus Germar, 1837
• Arilus collaris Herrich-Schaeffer, 1848
• Arilus spiniceps Blanchard, 1843

Notes and References

1. Aldrich . Jeffrey R.. Chauhan . Kamlesh R. . Zhang . Aijun . Zarbin . Paulo H.G. . 2013 . Exocrine Secretions of Wheel Bugs (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Arilus spp.): Clarification and Chemistry . Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C . 68 . 11-12 . 522–526 . 10.1515/znc-2013-11-1211 . 2022-02-01. free .
2. Laiton J.. Laura A. . Giraldo-Jaramillo . Marisol . Forero . Dimitri . Benavides M. . Pablo . 2021 . The wheel bug Arilus gallus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): life history and description of immature stages . Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington . 123 . 3 . 551–563 . 10.4289/0013-8797.123.3.551.
3. Fitzsimmons . Jay M. . Fitzsimmons . Lauren P. . 2010 . Pre-copulatory behavior of the wheel bug Arilus gallus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) . Entomological News . 121 . 3 . 304–307 . 2022-02-01.
4. https://www.gbif.org/species/2008590 GBIF: Arilus Hahn, 1831
5. Web site: Arilus Hahn, 1831: Genus information BioLib. biolib.cz. 11 May 2020.