Genus Achilus Kirby
Achilus flammeus KirbyGenus Achilus Kirby 1818: 474
Type species: Achilus flammeus Kirby 1818, by monotypy
Known species: The type species is the only Australian species. Metcalf (1948) lists four species, two of which, from Cameroon, were transfered to other genera by Fennah (1950). The status of A. cixioides Spinola, from Chile, is uncertain.
Distribution: Eastern and Southern Australia with the exception of Tasmania and Western Australia. Achilus flammeus is also present in New Zealand, possibly introduced.
Comments: The type species, known as the
"red fungus bug", is the most widely distributed member of the Australian
Achilini having been collected from Mt Gambier in South Australia to southern
Queensland. The bright red coloration of A. flammeus is distinctive.
Fennah (1950) also distinguished
the genus by the vertex not being depressed, the second segment of the
antennae projecting past the eyes (dorsally), and the convex and rounded
shape of the tegmina. In addition to these characters, the vertex is approximately
twice as wide as long.