Wing polymorphism and asymmetric male genitalia are intriguing morphological phenomena occurring in insects. Among Emesinae, or thread‐legged bugs, the tribe Metapterini Stål exhibits these two interesting morphological attributes. Nonetheless, evolutionary interpretations of these phenomena cannot be put forward because phylogenetic hypotheses for Emesinae are lacking. Thread‐legged bugs are easily recognized among assassin bugs due to their elongated and seemingly delicate body. The tribe Metapterini has 28 genera and approximately 280 described species. The only available phylogenetic hypothesis among Emesinae tribes was proposed by Wygodzinsky (1966), and it hypothesized Deliastini Villiers as the sister group of Metapterini, although this hypothesis has never been tested with cladistic approaches. Recent analyses using character sets of genitalia and prolegs suggest that Metapterini might not be monophyletic. In order to test these ideas, we compiled a morphological dataset of 138 characters that includes external morphological characters, detailed features of prolegs and genitalia of both sexes for Metapterini, which were analysed cladistically including 55 terminals, comprising 24 genera (85.7% of the generic diversity), 43 species of Metapterini and 12 outgroups. Metapterini was recovered as paraphyletic by the inclusion of Bergemesa Wygodzinsky, Palacus Dohrn and Stalemesa Wygodzinsky, all currently assigned to Deliastini. Gardena Dohrn (Emesini) was recovered as the sister group of Metapterini + Deliastini as suggested by Wygodzinsky (1966). Based on these results, we synonymize Deliastini syn. n. with Metapterini sensu n. and propose two new genera: Bacata Castro‐Huertas & Forero gen. n., for three Andean species previously placed in Liaghinella Wygodzinsky, and Valkyriella Castro‐Huertas & Forero gen. n. for Ghilianella borgmeieri Wygodzinsky. Ancestral state reconstruction of wing polymorphism indicates that males and females were fully winged in the ancestor of Metapterini sensu n. with two independent evolutionary transitions to the apterous and brachypterous conditions. The analysis of the symmetry of the male genitalia shows an ancestor with symmetric male genitalia and two independent emergences of asymmetrical male genitalia in Metapterini.

中文翻译：

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基于形态学特征的Metapterini Stål部落（半翅目、赤翅目、红翅目）的线足虫的翅膀多态性和生殖器不对称性的进化

翅膀多态性和不对称雄性生殖器是昆虫中发生的有趣的形态现象。在 Emesinae 或线腿虫中，Metapterini Stål 部落表现出这两个有趣的形态特征。尽管如此，由于缺乏 Emesinae 的系统发育假设，无法对这些现象进行进化解释。线腿虫由于其细长而看似纤细的身体，在刺客虫中很容易识别。Metapterini 部落有 28 个属和大约 280 个已描述的物种。Emesinae 部落中唯一可用的系统发育假说是由 Wygodzinsky (1966) 提出的，它假设 Deliastini Villiers 是 Metapterini 的姐妹群，尽管这个假说从未用分支方法进行过测试。最近使用生殖器和前肢字符集的分析表明，Metapterini 可能不是单系的。为了验证这些想法，我们编译了一个 138 个字符的形态学数据集，其中包括 Metapterini 的外部形态特征、两性前肢和生殖器的详细特征，对它们进行了分支分析，包括 55 个末端，包括 24 个属（占总属的 85.7%）。多样性），43 种 Metapterini 和 12 个外群。Metapterini 被恢复为并系系，包括 Bergemesa Wygodzinsky、Palacus Dohrn 和 Stalemesa Wygodzinsky，目前所有这些都属于 Deliastini。根据 Wygodzinsky (1966) 的建议，Gardena Dohrn (Emesini) 被恢复为 Metapterini + Deliastini 的姊妹组。基于这些结果，我们将 Deliastini syn 同义。n. Metapterini sensu n. 并提出两个新属：Bacata Castro-Huertas 和 Forero gen。n.，对于先前放置在 Liaghinella Wygodzinsky 和 ​​Valkyriella Castro-Huertas & Forero gen 中的三个安第斯物种。n. Ghilianella borgmeieri Wygodzinsky。翅膀多态性的祖先状态重建表明，在Metapterini sensu n的祖先中，雄性和雌性都具有完整的翅。具有两个独立的进化过渡到 apterous 和 brachypterous 条件。对男性生殖器对称性的分析表明，Metapterini 中有一个具有对称男性生殖器的祖先和两个独立出现的不对称男性生殖器。Ghilianella borgmeieri Wygodzinsky。翅膀多态性的祖先状态重建表明，在Metapterini sensu n的祖先中，雄性和雌性都具有完整的翅。具有两个独立的进化过渡到 apterous 和 brachypterous 条件。对男性生殖器对称性的分析表明，Metapterini 中有一个具有对称男性生殖器的祖先和两个独立出现的不对称男性生殖器。Ghilianella borgmeieri Wygodzinsky。翅膀多态性的祖先状态重建表明，在Metapterini sensu n的祖先中，雄性和雌性都具有完整的翅。具有两个独立的进化过渡到 apterous 和 brachypterous 条件。对男性生殖器对称性的分析表明，Metapterini 中有一个具有对称男性生殖器的祖先和两个独立出现的不对称男性生殖器。