Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Author: Palisot de Beauvois 1918
=Capsus oblineatus Say, Capsus flavonotatus Provancher, Capsus strigulatus Walker, Lygus pratensis rubidus Knight
Size
3.74-4.61 mm (male), 3.84-5.01 mm (female)
(1)Identification
Adult
Frons with submedian stripes (vittae) (only 4 species including rufidorsus, plagiatus and unctuosus have submedian stripes);
Long, dense hairs (distinguished from rufidorsus);
Hemelytra without patch hairs (distinguished from plagiatus); and
Red or yellow lateral margins of the mesoscutum) (distinguished from unctuosus)
Frons with submedian stripes (vittae) (only 4 species including rufidorsus, plagiatus and unctuosus have submedian stripes); and
Extensively reddish dark markings (in plagiatus and unctuosus mostly dark brown/black)
Adult: a pale yellow "Y" shape on the scutellum is the most notable feature; elytra vary in color from light to dark brown; cuneus usually yellowish or clear, with a small black spot at the tip; color and markings vary between sexes and between overwintering and summer adults. Nymph: yellowish-green with 4 black dots on the back
Range
throughout the US and so. Canada
Habitat
mostly fields, gardens, and meadows but also present in the leaf litter and understorey of woodlands and parks
Season
active all year in the south; adults found from March or April through November in the north
Food
nymphs and adults feed on cotton, soybeans, and more than 50 other crops, plus commercially-grown flowers, fruit trees, forest tree nurseries, and weeds (Over half of the US cultivated plant species are listed as host plants for tarnished plant bugs
(2))
Life Cycle
overwinters as an adult in the north (active all year in the south); eggs are inserted into plant tissues in the spring, and hatch in 10-21 days; nymphs develop through 5 instars in 3 weeks; summer life cycle from egg to adult takes approximately 4 weeks; summer adults live 1-2 months; 3 generations per year in the north, and more in the south
Remarks
The most common plant bug in the US
Print References
Young, O.P. 1986. Host plants of the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Heteroptera: Miridae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 79: 747-762.
