| Serinethinae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Box elder bug, Boisea trivittata | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Superfamily: | Coreoidea |
| Family: | Rhopalidae |
| Subfamily: | Serinethinae Stål, 1862 |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Serinethinae is a subfamily of the hemipteran family Rhopalidae, sometimes known as soapberry bugs.[1] They are brightly colored seed-eaters, comprising three genera and about sixty-five species. These bugs are specialists on plants in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), which includes maples, balloon vines, and soapberry trees, among others. Seeds of the plants are the main resource used by adults for reproduction and nymphs for growth and development. Their diversity is the result of an adaptive radiation on these plants, who have co-evolved defenses such as having their seeds contain cyanide, fly out, or be contained in hollow chambers.[2]
- ^ [1], 2007 Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, December 9–12, 2007.
- ^ "About Soapberry Bugs". Soapberry Bugs of the World.