Phlegyas annulicrus Stål, 1869

Leavengood, John M. Jr., 2020, On the distribution of Phlegyas Stål (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pachygronthidae), Insecta Mundi 758, pp. 1-4 : 2

Phlegyas annulicrus Stål, 1869

( Fig. 1–3 )

Distribution. AZ, CA, FL, GA, ID, KS, LA, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NM (new state record), OK, SC, TX, UT, Canada (BC), Mexico ( Ashlock and Slater 1988; Slater and Baranowski 1990; Scudder 2012) and Nicaragua (new country record). Slater (1955) listed Mississippi whereas subsequent literature listed Missouri (perhaps in error). This species is known to occur in the following states of Mexico: Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Chiapas (new state record), Coahuila (new state record), Colima, Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Estado de México, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas (new state record), Veracruz and Zacatecas (new state record) ( Cervantes et al. 2014).

Specimens examined. MEXICO: Chiapas: 3 mi S.W. Cintalapa, 19-X-1976, Cate & Clark ( TAMU, 1), 12 mi. east Huixtan, 15-IX-1990, Robert W. Jones ( TAMU, 1), Chorreadero Canyon, Tuxtla Gutierrez , 20-VI-1987 ( TAMU, 2) ; Coahuila: El Infante , 18-IX-1976, W. F. Chamberlain ( TAMU, 2) ; Tamaulipas: 7 miles south of Antiguo Morelos, 21-VIII-1974, W. E. Clark ( TAMU, 1) ; Zacatecas: Rt. 54, circa Las Palmas, 1500 m elevation, 21.149020° N 103.18290° W, 22-X-2005, C. H. Dietrich ( FSCA, 6; JMLC, 5), 24.7 mi. s. Juchipila, 6-VIII-1988, Ferreira, Schaffner ( TAMU, 2), 4 mi NE Concepción del Oro, 4-VII- 1984, J. B. Woolley ( TAMU, 2), Tropic of Cancer marker on highway 54, elevation 1958 m., 14-VII-1984, J. B. Woolley ( TAMU, 1), 2.6 km E of rt. 54, 1600m, 21.08947° N 103.13170° W, 22-X-2005, C. H. Dietrich ( FSCA, 3) . NICARAGUA: Esteli Dept. : 13.4 mi. NW Sebago, 17-VI-1972, CA-3, R. R. & M. E. Murray ( TAMU, 1) . USA: New Mexico: Harding County: Gallegos, 16-VI-1992, W. F. Chamberlain ( TAMU, 1), Hidalgo County : 5.8 miles west Animas, 31°56′31″ N 108°54′48″ W, el. 4450 ft., 25-VIII-2000, J. C. Schaffner ( TAMU, 1), Peloncillo Mts. , Geronimo Pass Rd. , along creekbed, N31°31.090′ W109°00.20′, 16-VIII-2009, CW & LB O’Brien ( FSCA, 1) .

Diagnostic remarks. Slater (1956) noted that [some] specimens from southern Mexico were darker colored and may be mistaken for P. abbreviatus , but that examination of the claspers and antennae facilitate distinguishing the species apart. Cervantes et al. (2014) also provides a detailed discussion to separate the two species. I examined large series of TAMU specimens from Mexico and observed specimens with strikingly dark (particularly anterior) pronotal coloration ( Fig. 3 ) with the rest of the body of typical coloration. One specimen (TAMU, Chiapas) had an entirely black pronotum ( Fig. 2 ), with the front legs and central scutellar marking notably darker than I had otherwise seen. The lone specimen representing the new record for Nicaragua was of typical coloration ( Fig. 1 ).

Figures

Figures 1–3. Phlegyas annulicrus Stål. 1) Mexico, Puebla (TAMU). 2) Mexico, Chiapas (TAMU). 3) Mexico, Puebla (TAMU).