Joppeicus Explained

Joppeicus paradoxus is a predatory heteropteran bug and the only member of the genus Joppeicus and the family Joppeicidae.^[1] Adults are ~3 mm long.

Ecology

J.paradoxus has been described as living in «gardens, fields, planted woods, street alleys» along the Nile River and also caves, rock crevices of the nearby desert or semidesert regions. It can be found under bark, herbs, leaf litter, stones, litter, or even among mammalian feces and burrows of the rodent genus Meriones.^[1]

It feeds on a variety of small arthopods, such as coleopteran larvae and adults, ants, other heteropterans, spiders and ticks.^[1]

Behaviour

It is quite active, runs quickly and tends to avoid light during the day.^[1]

Distribution

It has been originally described from Jaffa and documented from Israel and in Egypt and Sudan along the Nile^[1] and Ethiopia.^[2] It has recently been found in Fuerteventura and Socotra^[3] and even in a bean storage area in Thailand.^[2]

Systematics

A molecular genetics study in 2022 recovered Joppeicidae within Cimicomorpha as the closest relative of family Microphysidae, forming together the clade Microphysoidea.^[4] Another study in 2023 instead recovers Joppeicidae as the earliest diverging group of Cimiciformes.^[5]

Importance to humans

J.paradoxus has been investigated as a potential biocontrol insect against insect pests affecting food storage, such as Tribolium confusum.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Štys . Pavel . DISTRIBUTION AND HABITATS OF JOPPEICIDAE (HETEROPTERA) . Acta Faunistica Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae . March 30, 1971 . 14 . 199–208 . 4 May 2024.
2. Miyanoshita . A. . Imamura . T. . Visarathanonth . P. . Predatory ability of Joppeicus paradoxus Puton, a predator of stored-product insect pests . JIRCAS Research Highlights 2003 . 2004 . 5 May 2024.
3. 10.11646/zootaxa.5195.3.4 . Joppeicus paradoxus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Joppeicidae): A new alien species in the European Union? . 2022 . Roca-Cusachs . Marcos . Kment . Petr . Zootaxa . 5195 . 3 . 256–266 . 37045291 .
4. 10.1111/cla.12501 . Diversification of the phytophagous lineages of true bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera) shortly after that of the flowering plants . 2022 . Ye . Fei . Kment . Petr . Rédei . Dávid . Luo . Jiu-Yang . Wang . Yan-Hui . Kuechler . Stefan M. . Zhang . Wei-Wei . Chen . Ping-Ping . Wu . Hao-Yang . Wu . Yan-Zhuo . Sun . Xiao-Ya . Ding . Lu . Wang . Yue-Ran . Xie . Qiang . Cladistics . 38 . 4 . 403–428 . 35349192 .
5. 10.3390/insects14030267. free . Molecular Phylogeny of Cimicoidea (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) Revisited: Increased Taxon Sampling Reveals Evolution of Traumatic Insemination and Paragenitalia . 2023 . Jung . Sunghoon . Kim . Junggon . Balvín . Ondřej . Yamada . Kazutaka . Insects . 14 . 3 . 267 . 36975952 . 10051671 .