Some morphological aspects of the Orthotylinae
The Orthotylinae have traditionally been diagnosed by their possession of lamellate, apically divergent parempodia. This type of parempodial structure also occurs in the tribe Pilophorini which is placed in the Phylinae on the basis of the structure of the male genitalia. The male and female genitalia of the Orthotylinae have some structural attributes that offer additional evidence suggesting that the group may be monophyletic. These features include vesical spicules in the male and elaborations of the posterior wall in the female.
Some biological aspects of the Orthotylinae
In temperate regions of the world members of the group are univoltine and for the most part show strong host specificity. Many orthotylines are green in coloration, but may range from black to largely red and conspicuously aposematic. Several lineages are strongly myrmecomorphic.