The plant bug family Miridae is the largest group in Heteroptera, and is one of the most important insect groups economically in agriculture and in forestry, because it contains insect pests and predators. Among the subfamilies, Deraeocorinae represents the predatory group including some members which can be used as a biological control agent. This group comprises a total of six tribes in whole regions with their own unique morphology. However, the monophylies and relationships of tribes and genera within this subfamily are not still explored phylogenetically. In this talk, the first phylogenetic analyses of Deraeocorinae are presented based on total evidence data. Major questions including monophylies and relationships of each taxa on the basis of the results are discussed.

The subfamily Mirinae is the most diverse group in Heteroptera, composed of at least 4,100 described species worldwide. This subfamily is also one of the most important groups in agriculture and in forestry, containing many well-known pests and predators which can be used as a biological control agent. However, the monophyly and generic relationships of each group within this subfamily have been unclear due to the lack of phylogenetic analysis. In this talk, the first comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of this subfamily are presented based on total evidence data. Major questions on the basis of the results are discussed, including the monophyly and relationships among the tribes and main genera, and the evolution of important characters in each group.

The family Nabidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) is a cosmopolitan family of medium-sized (4-12 mm.) predatory groups in true bugs. Among them, 10 genera and approximately 130 species are distributed in the Palaearctic region. Most Nabidae are predators on various stages of insects (e.g., aphids, leafhoppers and lepidopteran eggs and young caterpillars), but several genera within the subfamily Prostemmatinae (e.g., Prostemma, Alloeorhynchus and Pagasa) are specialized predators of true bugs, especially of the family Lygaeidae. Most Nabinae are herbicolous and arboricolous, whereas all Prostemmatinae are ground-inhabiting (in litter layer, under stones, etc.). In this talk the family Nabidae is reviewed from Korea including two unrecorded species and one new species. The morphological information such as description and diagnoses, and biological information for each species are provided.

The subfamily Prostemmatinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha: Nabidae) is known as one of the predatory groups in true bugs, containing 5 genera and approximately 33 species in the Palaearctic region. All Prostemmatinae are ground-inhabiting (in litter layer, under stones, etc.), whereas most Nabinae are herbicolous and arboricolous. In Nabidae, most species are predators on various stages of insects (e.g., aphids, leafhoppers and lepidopteran eggs and young caterpillars), but several genera within the subfamily Prostemmatinae (e.g., Prostemma, Alloeorhynchus and Pagasa) are specialized predators of true bugs, especially of the family Lygaeidae. In this study the subfamily Prostemmatinae is revised from Korea. Among the four species recognized in this study, one species is a new record to Korean fauna, and Alloeorhynchus sp. nov. is described from the Chungcheongnam-do Province, South Korea. The morphological information such as description and diagnoses, and biological information for each species are provided.

Cimicomorpha is one of the most diverse groups in true bugs comprising more than 20,000 species, which attract a great attention for a variety of life-history strategies as well as for agricultural and medical aspects as followed: traumatic insemination in the bed bugs and their relatives (Cimicoidea), diverse feedinghabits in the plant bugs (Miridae), parasitism and blood-feeding in the bed bugs and their relatives (Cimicidae and Polyctenidae), agricultural pests in the lace bugs and the plant bugs (Tingidae and Miridae), biological control agents in the minute pirate bugs and the plant bugs (e.g., the genus Orius), disease transmission in the Triatominae (Reduviidae), and micro-habitat transitions in the assassin bugs and the flower bugs (Reduviidae and Anthocoridae). In this talk, I conducted the phylogenetic analyses of the Cimicomorpha based on the molecular data. Additionally, through the phylogenetic comparative analyses, I also present the evolutionary history of the specialized biological traits of the Cimicomorpha.

Cimicomorpha is one of the most diverse groups in true bugs, and attract a great attention for a variety of reasons, among them, extraordinary insemination methods in the bed bugs and their relatives (Cimicoidea), feeding-habits alternations in the plant bugs (Miridae), parasitism in the bed bugs and their relatives (Cimicidae and Polyctenidae), agricultural pests in the lace bugs and the plant bugs (Tingidae and Miridae), biological control agents in the minute pirate bugs and the plant bugs (e.g., the genus Orius), disease transmission in the Triatominae (Reduviidae), and micro-habitat transition in the assassin bugs and the flower bugs (Reduviidae and Anthocoridae). In this talk, we propose the phylogenetic relationships within the Cimicomorpha especially including some critical taxa in terms of the biological traits such as haemocoelic insemination and parasitism (e.g., the species belonging to Lasiochilidae, Lyctocoridae, Prostemminae and Corydromius). Based on the phylogenetic results, we also present the evolutionary history of the specialized biological traits of the Cimicomorpha using phylogenetic comparative analyses.

Recently, biological systematic studies have contributed for understanding of evolutionary histories of living organisms. In this talk, I present how evolutionary histories are inferred from the phylogenetic relationships. Two case studies in the Cimicomorpha (Heteroptera) are presented: 1. Inferring ancestral character states of the plant bugs (Heteroptera: Miridae); 2. Revealing evolutionary history of the Cimicoidea based on correlated evolution between habitat selection and morphological characters (Heteroptera: Cimiciformes). Case I: The first comprehensive cladistic analysis of Miridae, the plant bugs, is presented based on analysis of 3935 base pairs of mitochondrial (16S, COI) and nuclear (18S, 28SD3) DNA for 91 taxa in seven subfamilies. Data were analyzed using maximum likelihood (ML), parsimony, and Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic frameworks. Divergence time estimates indicate that the radiation of the Miridae began in the Permian; most genus-level radiations within subfamilies began in the late Cretaceous, probably in response to the angiosperm radiation. Ancestral feeding state reconstructions based on Bayesian and parsimony inference were largely congruent and both reconstructed phytophagy as the ancestral state of the Miridae. Furthermore, the feeding habits of the common ancestors of Mirinae + Deraeocorinae, Bryocorinae + Cylapinae + Isometopinae + Orthotylinae, and the remaining taxa excluding Phylinae, were inferred as phytophagous. Therefore, at least three shifts from phytophagy or polyphagy to predation occurred within the Miridae. Case II: The diverse habitat types and discrete morphological characters of cimicoid species provide a unique opportunity to study correlated evolution. Phylogenetic relationships within Cimicoidea were determined using Bayesian analyses of molecular data, allowing the generation of testable hypotheses of correlated evolution. An investigation of the correlation between habitat selection and morphological characters revealed that a dead plant habitat was correlated with the filiform antennal type. Furthermore, molecular dating analysis was used to examine divergence times within the Cimicoidea. Transitions to live plants from dead plants for most cimicoid clades started right after the mid–Cretaceous, coinciding with the radiation of the angiosperms. Using contingency analyses, I determined that evolutionary changes in morphological characters were dependent on habitat selection. Based on these results, I propose evolutionary historical hypotheses for the Cimicoidea.