Numbers
9 species in North America
nearctica.com)
Identification
Adult: body elongate, light to dark brown or reddish-brown; pronotum humped, with single dorsal ridge in midline but lacking pronotal hood and lateral expansions characteristic of other lace bugs; antennae thick, 4-segmented, with 3rd segment 3-5 times longer than basal segment
Nymph: body oblong, yellowish-brown; lateral margins of thorax and abdomen with short stout spines; wingpads dark-tipped, present in last two instars only
Range
eastern & central United States and southeastern Canada
Habitat
on leaves of host plants in summer; leaf litter in winter
Season
adults April to November in the south; June through September in the north
nymphs July to September
Food
nymphs and adults feed on leaves of fringetree (Chionanthus spp.), privet (Forestiera spp.), and ash (Fraxinus spp.)
Life Cycle
two generations per year in the south; probably one in the north; overwinters as an adult in leaf litter
Internet References
pinned adult image of
L. mutica (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota)
good overview of L. mutica; PDF doc including description of all life stages, images, distribution, host plants, biology, references (F.W. Mead, Florida Dept. Agriculture)
Forestiera Lace Bugs; PDF doc - description of 2 species, plus images, distribution, host plants, references (Alfred Wheeler, Dept. of Natural Resources, South Carolina)
key to species of Oklahoma Tingoidea (W.A. Drew and Don Arnold, Oklahoma State U.)
Contributed by
Robin McLeod on 8 November, 2005 - 9:34am
Last updated 8 November, 2005 - 11:40am
