Elasmopoda Explained

Elasmopoda is a genus in the "true bug" family Coreidae, order Hemiptera. The genus is native to parts of eastern and southern Africa.^[1] The species are large "twig wilter" bugs, generally brown or greyish. The femora of the hind legs are somewhat enlarged and bent, but less than those of some related genera, and either unarmed, or less armed with spikes.

The genus Elasmopoda has junior synonyms, some of them apparently the products of clerical errors, in particular:^[2]

• synonym Evagrius Distant, 1900
• synonym Holopterna Stål, 1873
• synonym Hoplopterna Stål, 1873
• synonym Hoploterna Distant, 1892

Species include:^[1]

• Elasmopoda alata (Westwood, 1842)
• Elasmopoda antennata (Courteaux, 1907)
• Elasmopoda atramentaria (Germar, 1837)
• Elasmopoda dallasi (Stål, 1873)
• Elasmopoda elata Blöte, 1938
• Elasmopoda falx (Drury, 1782)
• Elasmopoda gladius (Distant, 1900)
• Elasmopoda lunata (Signoret, 1858)
• Elasmopoda parmenio Linnavuori, 1973
• Elasmopoda ugandica (Kirkaldy, 1909)
• Elasmopoda valga (Linnaeus, 1758)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Webb . Mick. genus Elasmopoda Stål, 1873 . Coreoidea Species File (Version 5.0/5.0) . The Natural History Museum, London . 3 November 2014. etal.
2. http://coreoidea.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1189347 Coreoidea Species File (Version 5.0/5.0) accessed 2015 12 05