Orius (Heterorius) minutus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Moulet, Pierre, 2017, Updated catalogue of Iranian Anthocoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha), Zootaxa 4311 (4), pp. 451-479 : 464

Orius (Heterorius) minutus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Cimex minutus Linnaeus, 1758: 446 (as new species); Anthocoris fruticum Fallén, 1829: 68 ; Triphleps luteolus Fieber, 1860: 271 ; Triphleps minutus var. falleni Fieber, 1860: 271 ; Triphleps minutus var. vittata Fieber, 1860: 271 ; Triphleps minutus var. apicalis Fieber, 1860: 271 ; Triphleps latus Fieber, 1861: 140 ; Triphleps minutus var. tibialis Reuter, 1901: 155 .

Distribution in Iran. Alborz, East Azarbaijan, Tehran ( Ostovan 1998), Fars ( Modarres Awal 1997; Ostovan 1998; Ostovan & Niakan 2000 (as O. minutus var. tibialis ); Ostovan & Mirhelli 2005; Farzaneh et al. 2010a, b, 2011; Ostovan et al. 2015), Guilan ( Linnavuori & Hosseini 2000; Erfanfar 2014), Hamadan ( Modarres Awal 1997; Mirab-Balou et al. 2007, 2008), Isfahan ( Modarres Awal 1997; Ostovan 1998; Abd-Rabou & Ghahari 2006), Kermanshah, Kordestan, Markazi, Tehran ( Modarres Awal 1997), Lorestan ( Sepahvand et al. 2014, 2016), Mazandaran ( Ghahari & Ostovan 2006; Ghahari et al. 2015), Northern Khorasan ( Malkeshi et al. 1998), Razavi Khorasan ( Shojai et al. 1996; Modarres Awal 1997; Ostovan 1998; Abedi et al. 2015), Semnan ( Modarres Awal 1997, Niknam 2000 (as O. minutus var. tibialis ); Kalaii et al. 2013), West Azarbaijan ( Mostaan 1993; Modarres Awal 1997; Ostovan 1998; Erfanfar 2014), Iran (no exact locality cited) ( Ostovan 2004 as O. minutus var. tibialis ; Khanjani 2005; Erfanfar et al. 2014, 2015).

General distribution. Palaearctic, in Scandinavia only in Sweden; has erroneously been quoted in America (concern in fact O. vicinus ).

Plant associates. Apple orchard ( Shojai et al. 1996; Ostovan 1998), alfalfa field ( Ostovan 1998; Mirab-Balou et al. 2007, 2008; Abedi et al. 2015), corn, onion ( Ostovan 1998), Mentha longifolia (Lamiaceae) ( Farzaneh et al. 2010b), Fraxinus sp. ( Oleaceae ) (Ostovan et al. 2015); on numerous herbs, schrubs and trees ( Péricart 1972).

Prey records. Panonychus ulmi (Koch, 1836) (Acari: Tetranychidae ) ( Mostaan 1993; Shojai et al. 1996; Modarres Awal 1997), Aphids of pome fruit trees ( Malkeshi et al. 1998), Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae ) ( Khanjani 2005), whiteflies ( Hemiptera : Aleyrodidae ) ( Abd-Rabou & Ghahari 2006), Lixus incanescens Boheman, 1835 ( Coleoptera : Curculionidae ) ( Abedi et al. 2015); aphids, psyllids, jassids, Thysanoptera, Acari , eggs of Heteroptera and Lepidoptera , partly phytophagous ( Péricart 1972), thrips , psyllids, aphids, plant bugs, leafhoppers ( Saulich & Musolin 2009).

Biology. In Poland, O. minutus appears in the first half of April (when apple trees blossom) and oviposition takes place one month later. Two generations per year, the first appears at the end of June, the second at the beginning of August but they overlap (Saulich & Musolin 2009).