Diagnosis and Specialized Morphology
Species of Elasmodeminae are characterized by:
- dorsoventrally flattened body
- spinose legs
- forewing membrane with few longitudinal veins reaching the posterior margin of wing
Taxonomic History
The genus Elasmodema Stal has two Neotropical species and it has been treated as a family by some authors (Wygodzinsky 1944, China & Miller 1959, Maldonado 1990). However, based on Carayon et al. (1958), it appears that it's closely related with the Holoptilinae.
Natural History/Biology
Elasmodemines live under loose bark and appear to prey on insects that occur there (Wygodzinsky 1944).
References
Carayon, J., Usinger, R.L., Wygodzinsky, P. 1958. Notes on the higher classification of the Reduviidae, with the description of a new tribe of the Phymatinae (Hemiptera-Heteroptera). Revue de Zoology and Botanique africaine 57: 256-281.
China, W.E., Miller, N.C.E. 1959. Check-list and keys to the families and subfamilies of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera. Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.), Entomol. 8: 1-45.
Maldonado, J. 1990. Systematic catalogue of the Reduviidae of the world (Insecta: Heteroptera). Caribb. J. Sci. Special Edition: 1-694.
Wygodzinsky, P. 1944. Contribuicao ao conhecimento do genero "Elasmodema" Stal, 1860 (Elasmodemidae, Reduvioidea, Hemiptera). Rev. Brasil. Biol. 4: 193-213.