Miridae

Another group of interest are Miridae or plant bugs. With about 10,000 species worldwide Miridae are the largest family of Heteroptera, but many new species remain to be described. Often plant feeding and host specific, Miridae are currently established as a model to study the evolution of insect host-plant relationships. Another striking aspect are the myrmecomorphic features of Miridae although the nature of their association with ants are still not well understood. We work on taxonomy and phylogenetics on different subgroups of Miridae, but have also used plant bugs as models to investigate areas of endemism in North America, and Eric Gordon is studying gut symbionts in Miridae.