Europiella decolor (Uhler), 1934

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 : 251

Europiella decolor (Uhler)

Agalliastes fumidus Uhler, 1895:54 (n. sp.) NEW SYNONYMY.

In his original description, Uhler (1895: 55) said that he had seen a single male from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, collected by C. F. Baker on July 15. I encountered a single specimen in the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., bearing a handwritten label ‘‘ Plagiognathus fumidus Uhler’’; it also bears the printed label ‘‘type’’. Apparently on the basis of this specimen Kelton (1965:1142) transferred fumidus to Plagiognathus . The above­mentioned specimen cannot, however, be the holotype of fumidus because it is a female and because it fits the original description very poorly; indeed, Uhler’s description of fumidus in almost every detail fits his concept of Europiella decolor . Furthermore, Uhler described fumidus in Agalliastes , the genus in which he also described Europiella decolor . Other Uhler species placed in Plagiognathus in the present paper were described by Uhler in Plagiognathus , observations offering additional justification for treating fumidus as the same as Europiella decolor Uhler.

To create an unequivocal concept for fumidus , I am designating as neotype a specimen identifiable as Europiella decolor , which fits the original description of fumidus much better than does the specimen labeled as the ‘‘type’’, especially because the mesoscutum in Europilla decolor and many other members of the genus is ‘‘yellow on either side’’, as indicated by Uhler for fumidus . This male specimen is deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., and bears the following label data:

USA: COLORADO: Rio Blanco Co.: 30 mi. N Rifle on Rt. 13, 6800 ft., August 14, 1986, coll.: Randall T. Schuh; Artemisia ludoviciana var. incompta (Nutt.) Cronq. (Asteraceae) ; Neotype Agalliastes fumidus Uhler , det R. T. Schuh.