Plagiognathus melliferae, 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 : 161-162

Plagiognathus melliferae , new species Figures 9 , 17 , 27

HOLOTYPE: Male : ‘‘[ USA] CAL[ifornia]. Riverside Co., Menifee Vly. (hills on W. end) 33°39̍ N 117°13 ̍W. 1800̍ el. V­14–1978, J. D. Pinto, on Salvia mellifera ’’. Deposited in the American Museum of Natural History.

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by the moderately large size, the mostly pale but varied coloration of the dorsum (fig. 9), the entirely black antennae (fig. 17), and the face at and below base of clypeus castaneous, polished, and contrasting with coloration of vertex and remainder of frons. Similar to fulvidus , mexicanus , and salviae in coloration and texture of lower portion of face. Separated from salviae (fig. 12) by that species being much smaller and occurring in the western Great Basin and adjacent areas rather than in coastal southern California. Separated from mexicanus (fig. 10) by the uniformly dark red coloration and coastal northern Baja California distribution of that species, and from fulvidus (fig. 8) by the orange coloration and occurrence in the northeastern United States.

DESCRIPTION: Male: Moderately large, elongate­ovoid; total length 3.99 – 4.37, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.70– 2.92, width across pronotum 1.31–1.40. COLORATION (fig. 9): Head, pronotum, and mesoscutum suffused with orange, much of remainder of dorsum pale; scutellum, endocorium, and cuneus mostly brown; membrane weakly fumose, veins pale; face castaneous and shining at and below base of clypeus; antennae entirely black (fig. 17); venter almost entirely castaneous; labium mostly castaneous; coxae mostly infuscate, remainder of legs dirty yellow; femora with some dark spots; dorsal tibial spines with dark spots at bases; tibiae dark at femoral articulation. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum weakly granular, smooth, weakly shining. Vestiture of dorsum composed of recumbent, simple setae unicolorous with dor­ sum with darker suberect setae on pronotum and anterolaterally on hemelytra. STRUC­ TURE: Body elongate, nearly parallel sided; frons very weakly tumid, clypeus not visible from above; anteocular distance 0.3 times diameter of antennal segment 1; head projecting below eye by diameter of antennal segment 1; labium reaching apex of hind coxae. GENITALIA (fig. 27): Vesica more or less J­shaped, base falling well below base of secondary gonopore; apical spines moderately long and slender, angled relative to body of vesica, anterior spine nearly straight, cylindrical, and longer than posterior; flange on vesica moderately broad.

Female: More strongly ovoid than male; coloration as in male. Total length 3.54–3.89, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.44– 2.78, width across pronotum 1.26–1.36.

ETYMOLOGY: Named for its occurrence on Salvia mellifera .

HOSTS: Salvia mellifera , S. vaseyi (Lamiaceae) .

DISTRIBUTION: Coastal southern California.

PARATYPES: USA.— California: Los Angeles Co. : Mint Canyon, May 25, 1937 – May 26, 1937, E. P. Van Duzee, 183, 18♀ (CAS). Riverside Co.: Bautista Canyon, May 30, 1976, J. D. Pinto, 13, (UCR). Menifee Valley, hills on W end, 560 m, May 11, 1978 – May 14, 1978, J. D. Pinto and R. T. Schuh, Salvia mellifera (Lamiaceae) , 413, 29♀ (AMNH, UCR, USNM). San Diego Co.: Anza­Borrego Desert State Park, Palm Canyon Trail, 600 ft, May 17, 1982, M. D. Schwartz, Salvia vaseyi (Lamiaceae) , 83, 22♀ (AMNH). Shasta Co.: Cayton, July 9, 1913, E. P. Van Duzee, 1♀ (CAS).

Figures

Fig. 9. Habitus figures of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp. (see p. 263 for localities).

Fig. 17. Antennal segments 1 and 2 of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp.

Fig. 27. Male genitalia of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp.