ABSTRACT
The Rhopalidae is a family of 20 genera and about 200 species (Göllner-Scheiding 1983), distributed worldwide and phylogenetically related to the Coreidae and its relatives (Schaefer 1964). The common name, “scentless plant bugs,” refers to the reduction of the adults’ metathoracic scent glands; these glands are functional, although externally they are difficult or impossible to discern (Aldrich et al. 1990; see also Davidová-Vilímová et al. in press). The name also refers to the fact the bugs are all phytophagous, the members of one subfamily (Rhopalinae) feeding on many different plants, and those of the other subfamily (Serinethinae) preferring members of the Sapindaceae (Schaefer and Chopra 1982, Schaefer and Mitchell 1983).
