Family ACANTHOSOMATIDAE Signoret, 1864
U. Göllner-Scheiding
Acanthosomatidae are subdivided into three subfamilies with 49 genera and about 180 species. The subfamilies Bladusinae with 22 and Ditomotarsinae with 15 genera do not occur in the Palaearctic. The subfamily Acanthosomatinae with 15 genera, most of them comprising many species, is distributed worldwide. Acanthosomatinae are phytophagous; they live on different trees and shrubs, often sucking berries or seeds. Some species show parental care. They hibernate as imagines. The body is usually more or less elongate, 5 to 18 mm long, with 5-segmented antennae and 2-segmented tarsi. The dorsal side is flat, scutellum elongate triangular, not covering the hemelytra and reaching to about the middle of abdomen. Mesosternum with median carina; abdominal sternite 3 with spine-like process directed forwards. Male abdominal segment 8 visible; sternite 7 with concave hind margin in both sexes.