Plagiognathus stitti Knight, 1964: 145

SCHUH, RANDALL T., 2001, Revision Of New World Plagiognathus Fieber, With Comments On The Palearctic Fauna And The Description Of A New Genus (Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2001 (266), pp. 1-267 : 223

Plagiognathus stitti Knight, 1964: 145 (n. sp.).

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by the relatively large size, mostly pale coloration of the dorsum with contrasting brown head and calli, the strongly fumose membrane, and parallelsided body form (fig. 13). Vesica (fig. 32) very similar to obscurus in the conformation of the body, width and extent of the flange, and the length and shape of the apical spines.

REDESCRIPTION: Male: Moderately large, elongate, nearly parallel­sided; total length 4.40, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.88, width across pronotum 1.28. COLOR­ ATION (fig. 13): Most of dorsum pale, including posterior margin of vertex, yellowwhite, somewhat translucent; remainder of head, calli, and venter of thorax and abdomen brown; membrane fumose, veins at posterior margin of cells pale; antennae black except for pale apical annulus on segment 1; labium infuscate at base and apex, otherwise pale; coloration of legs pale, as for dorsum; femora with some small dark spots; dorsal tibial spines with small dark spots at bases; tibiae dark at femoral articulation. SUR­ FACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum weakly granular, smooth, very weakly shining. Vestiture of dorsum, including entire pronotum, composed of recumbent, simple, golden, shining setae. STRUCTURE: Body flattened; head declivent, frons moderately tumid, clypeus at most barely visible from above; anteocular distance 0.3 times diameter of antennal segment 1; head projecting below eye by 1.3 times diameter of antennal segment 1; labium reaching apex of hind coxae and possibly slightly beyond. GENITALIA (fig. 32): Body of vesica relatively broad, strongly curving basally, base reaching to about level of secondary gonopore; apical spines long, relatively broad, posterior spine smoothly curving, anterior spine bent subapically and forming nearly a right angle with body of vesica; flange broad, extending to midpoint of secondary gonopore.

Female: Not measured.

HOST: Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the type locality in Arizona.

DISCUSSION: The redescription is based on a single paratype male. Knight (1964) indicated that L. L. Stitt, the collector of the only known specimens of this taxon, had collected the host plant but did not put the name on the insect specimens. Why Knight mentions this issue is not clear to me, because he did not place host labels on the specimens either, nor did he make mention of the identity of the host in his description of the new species.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: USA.— Arizona: Apache Co. : Greer , August 1, 1941, Lloyd L. Stitt, paratypes: 23, 4♀ (USNM) ; holotype male (USNM).