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Genus Phytocoris
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Family Miridae (Plant Bugs)
Subfamily Mirinae
Tribe Mirini
Genus Phytocoris
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Author: Fallén, 1814 Explanation of Names phyt, -o is Greek for a plant
cori, =s is Greek for a bug (1)Numbers 271 species in North America ( nearctica.com)
more than 700 species world-wide ( Plant Bugs of the World)
Slater & Baranowski (1978) lists 198 species (2).
Stonedahl (1988, 1995) lists 294 (=283+11) nearctic species (3) (4). Identification Adult is dark gray to light brown, mottled with yellow, white, or dark brown spots. No median line of white hairs, lateral margins of pronotum not sharply ridged (2).
Hind legs long: hind femora and tibiae about twice as long as mid & front femora and tibiae. Range widely distributed in Canada and US Habitat shrubs and trees in woodlands, parks, orchards Season nymphs from May to August; adults from July to September Food nymphs and adults are predaceous on aphids, mites, scale insects, and larvae of Lepidoptera Life Cycle one generation per year; overwinters as egg Remarks This is one of the largest and most complex of all the North American mirid genera (2)
1. Eastern species
Knight (5) and Blatchley (6) divided eastern species into 4 groups.
Group I: Wing membrane confusedly sprinkled with discolored or dark spots, or with numerous, minute, pale spots
Species: albifacies, antennalis, breviusculus, conspurcatus, corticevivens, davisi, dimidiatus, falcatus*, fenestratus, fumatus, inops, junceus, kerrvillensis*, lasiomerus, minutulus, pallidicornis, purvus, rubropictus, suicatus, tuberculatus, ulmi, vittatus
Group II (Blatchley's Group III): Wing membrane marbled, uniformly dark brown or uniformly light colored, never with many minute spots; A1 > (head width); and antennae black or fuscous
Species: albitylus, angustulus, annulicornis, arundinicola, brevifurcatus, buenoi, canadensis, cortitectus, erectus, eximius, husseyi, lacunosus, neglectus, nigricollis, obtectus, onustus, pectinatus, salicis, schotti, spicatus
Group III (Blatchley's Group II): Wing membrane marbled, uniformly dark brown or uniformly light colored, never with many minute spots; A1 < (head width); and A1 not red with yellow spots, but yellow, yellow with dark spots or brown to almost black
Species: angustifrons, conspersipes, diversus, exemplus, fulvus, junipericola, mundus, pinicola, rufus, uniformis
Group IV: Wing membrane marbled, uniformly dark brown or uniformly light colored, never with many minute spots; either [ A1 > (head width) and antennae pale ] or [ A1 < (head width) and A1 red with yellow spots ]
Species: caryae, confluens, depictus, infuscatus, luteolus, olseni, puella, pseudonymus , quercicola, rubellus, taxodii, tibialis, venustus
See Also Neurocolpus--note partly hairy antennae Print References Slater & Baranowski (1978) pp. 165-166, fig.l 320 (2)
Brimley, p. 76, lists 13 species for North Carolina, taken May-September (7). Internet References Live adult image of Phytocoris species, plus biology and other info (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Food).
Pinned adult images of 5 Phytocoris species (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota).
Description & biology plus links to images of egg, nymph, adult (U. of California).
Pinned adult image of P. dimidiatus provided by Danmarks Blomstertæger.
Pinned and live adult images of P. populi provided by Danmarks Blomstertæger.
Live adult images of P. populi provided by British Bugs.
Pinned and live adult images of P. tiliae provided by Danmarks Blomstertæger.
Live adult and nymph images of P. tiliae provided by British Bugs.
Pinned and live images of adults and nymphs of P. ulmi provided by Danmarks Blomstertæger.
Live adult images of P. ulmi provided by British Bugs.
Pinned and live images of adults and nymphs of P. varipes provided by Danmarks Blomstertæger.
Live adult and nymph images of P. varipes provided by British Bugs.
Works Cited | 2. | How to Know the True Bugs
By Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. | |
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