Plagiognathus piceicola, SCHUH, 2001

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 : 195

Plagiognathus piceicola , new species Figures 11 , 18 , 30

HOLOTYPE: Male : ‘‘[ USA] Cloudcroft, N [ew] M[exico], 5.VII.1968, 9100̍, L. A. Kelton, on Picea ’’. Deposited in the Canadian National Insect Collection, Ottawa.

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by moderate size, generally castaneous coloration, including antennae and legs, the veins of the membrane entirely pale (fig. 11), the neatly arranged vestiture of golden, shining, simple setae on dorsum (fig. 11), and the structure of the vesica (fig. 30). Similar in size and coloration to fenderi , fuscipes , laricicola , pemptos , and suffuscipennis ; fenderi (fig. 7) with anteocular distance about 2 times diameter of antennal segment 1 and with distinct pale markings on dorsum; femora in fuscipes (fig. 8) not so heavily darkened, vestiture of dorsum more woolly in appearance and more silvery, and apical blade of vesica much longer; laricicola (fig. 8) known only from eastern North America and restricted to Larix ; pemptos (fig. 11) easily separated by its possession of nearly black, nonshining setae on the dorsum and veins of the membrane pale only along the posterior margin of the cells; most difficult to distinguish from populations of suffuscipennis (fig. 13: suffuscipennis 2) occurring in the Rocky Mountains, but separated by the smaller size of that species and by the structure of the vesica (compare figs. 30 for piceicola and 32 for suffuscipennis ).

DESCRIPTION: Male: Elongate, weakly flattened, of moderate size; total length 3.55– 4.22, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.39–2.93, width across pronotum 0.98– 1.18. COLORATION (fig. 11): General coloration, including appendages, castaneous, particularly cuneus sometimes more reddish; corium narrowly and weakly pale adjacent to extreme basal area of membrane; corium and cuneus narrowly and weakly pale at cuneal fracture; membrane smoky, veins entirely pale, yellowish to reddish; antennae castaneous (fig. 18), antennal segment 1 with a reddish apical annulus; femora pale apically; tibiae pale to weakly infuscate, tibial spines with dark spots at bases; tibiae dark at articulation with femora. SURFACE AND VES­ TITURE: Dorsum weakly granular, smooth, at most very weakly shining. Vestiture of dorsum composed of recumbent, golden, shining, simple setae. STRUCTURE: Corial margins very weakly convex; frons moderately tumid and weakly bulging beyond anterior margin of eyes in dorsal view, clypeus barely visible from above; anteocular distance equal to diameter of antennal segment 1; head projecting below level of eye by 1.5 times diameter of antennal segment 1; labium reaching between apices of middle and hind coxae. GENITALIA (fig. 30): Body of vesica broadly curving, posterior apical spine erect relative to body of vesica, anterior spine longer than posterior, smoothly curving, and relatively broad; flange projecting only slightly beyond body of vesica, terminating at base of secondary gonopore.

Female: Body more strongly ovoid than in male; coloration usually somewhat lighter. Total length 3.53–3.81, length apex clypeus– cuneal fracture 2.36–2.63, width across pronotum 1.06–1.15.

ETYMOLOGY: Named for its occurrence on Picea .

HOST: Picea sp. (Pinaceae) .

DISTRIBUTION: Known from higher altitudes in northern Arizona and in New Mexico.

PARATYPES: USA.— Arizona: Apache Co. : Big Lake, Apache Natl. Forest , August 12, 1967, L. A. Kelton, 1♀ (CNC). Coconino Co.: San Francisco Mts, Coconino Natl. Forest, 9650 ft, July 14, 1968, L. A. Kelton, 43, 2♀ (CNC). Greenlee Co.: Hannagan, Apache Natl. Forest , 9000 ft, July 10, 1968, L. A. Kelton, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Pinaceae) , 23 (CNC). New Mexico: Otero Co.: Cloudcroft, 9100 ft, July 5, 1968, L. A. Kelton, on Picea , 163, 16♀ (AMNH, CNC).

Figures

Fig. 11. Habitus figures of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp. (see p. 263 for localities).

Fig. 18. Antennal segments 1 and 2 of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp.

Fig. 30. Male genitalia of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp. ser = serrate.