ABSTRACT
The Pentatomidae are one of the largest heteropteran families, with more than 4,120 described species, however, a minority of them are predators (Panizzi et al. 2000, Rider 2011). The Asopinae (~ 300 spp.) mainly differ from other pentatomid subfamilies by having a crassate rostrum that is an adaptation for predaceous feeding habits (Gapud 1991, Bueno and van Lenteren 2012). They feed principally on the larval forms of soft-bodied insects such as Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera (De Clercq 2008), but they can also feed on a wide variety of prey which can vary in quality (De Clerq et al. 1998a, Lemos et al. 2003, Zanuncio et al. 2005), including plant material (Ruberson et al. 1986). The Asopinae stink bugs are found throughout the world, but are most plentiful in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions (De Clercq 2000).
