| Holoptilinae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Ant wolf or feather-legged bug, genus Holoptilus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Reduviidae |
| Subfamily: | Holoptilinae Lepeletier and Serville, 1825 |
| Tribes | |
The Holoptilinae are a subfamily of Reduviidae (assassin bugs) known as feather-legged bugs or ant wolves. Several members of the subfamily specialize on ants. About 16 genera (one fossil) are known,[1] with about 80 species described. Species in the Holoptilini tribe possess a specialized organ called a trichome to attract ants.[2]
Three tribes are included in the subfamily - Aradellini, Dasycnemini, and Holoptilini.[3]
- ^ Poinar, George O. "Praecoris dominicana gen. n., sp. n. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Holoptilinae) from Dominican amber, with an interpretation of past behavior based on functional morphology". Insect Systematics & Evolution, Volume 22, Number 2, 1991 , pp. 193-199(7).
- ^ Weirauch and Cassis. Attracting ants: The trichome and novel glandular areas on the sternum of the Ptilocnemus lemur (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Holoptilinae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 114(1 & 2):28-37. 2006. doi:10.1664/0028-7199(2006)114[28:AATTAN2.0.CO;2]
- ^ Heteropteran Systematics Lab @ UCR. "Ant-luring feather-legged bugs: the Holoptilinae (with G. Cassis and M. Bulbert, University of NS Wales and Macquarie University)". Archived from the original on 2010-07-17. Retrieved 2009-11-07.