HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Cimicomorpha » Miroidea » Plant Bugs (Miridae) » Mirinae » Mirini » Tropidosteptes » Oak Catkin Mirid (Tropidosteptes quercicola)

Species Tropidosteptes quercicola - Oak Catkin Mirid

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Works Cited

Plant Bug 01 - Tropidosteptes quercicola

Tropidosteptes quercicola (Johnston) - Tropidosteptes quercicola

Tropidosteptes quercicola? - Tropidosteptes quercicola

Oak Catkin Mirid - Tropidosteptes quercicola

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)

Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)

Infraorder Cimicomorpha

Superfamily Miroidea

Family Miridae (Plant Bugs)

Subfamily Mirinae

Tribe Mirini

Genus Tropidosteptes

Species quercicola (Oak Catkin Mirid)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Tropidosteptes quercicola (Johnston)

Orig. Comb: Neoborus quercicola Johnston 1939

Explanation of Names

quercicola (L). 'the oak dweller' (1)

Numbers

37 spp. N. of Mex. (2)

Size

Male: Length 4.6 mm.

Female: Length 4.9 mm. (Johnston 1939)

Identification

Distinguished by the robust oval form, convex frons and scutellum, short rostrum, and coloration. (Johnston 1939)

Det. M. A. Quinn, 2011

nymph

Det. M. A. Quinn, 2024

Range

wide spread in TX, Gulf Coast to e. FL penninsula / ne. Mex. (Dallas to New Orleans to Monterrey, MX) - Map (2)(3)

Habitat

One of the most commonly collected mirids in oak-juniper woodlands of c. TX (4)

Season

mostly March-April (4)(3)

Food

Breeds abundantly on live oaks (Quercus virginiana, Quercus fusiformis) (Johnston 1939)(4)

Life Cycle

Catkin mimic, populations spike during catkin season (4)

Remarks

Type Locality: College Station, Brazos Co., Texas, April 1, 1933 (H. G. Johnston).

Paratypes: 42 males and females taken with the types on live oak (Quercus virginiana) where the species breeds abundantly;

21 males and females, April 24, 1932, Sonora, Texas (S. E. Jones), light trap. (Johnston 1939)

See Also

This species is distinctly intermediate between Lygus and Neoborus and differs from Lygus essentially in the shorter head, puncturation between the calli, and the male genitalia. (Johnston 1939)

Print References

Carvalho, J.C.M. 1959. A catalogue of the Miridae of the world. Part IV. Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 48: 384 pp.

Johnston, H.G. 1939. Five new species of Miridae from Texas (Hemiptera). Bull. Brooklyn Entomol. Soc., 34 (2): 129-133. (Full Text)

Works Cited

1.	Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.

2.	Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs of Canada and the Continental United States Thomas J. Henry, Richard C. Froeschner. 1988. Brill Academic Publishers.

3.	Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

4.	Abundance and distribution of potential arthropod prey species in a typical Golden-cheeked Warbler habitat. Quinn, M.A. 2000. Unpublished Thesis. Texas A&M University, College Station. ix + 182 pp.

Contributed by Mike Quinn on 24 January, 2011 - 2:46pm
Additional contributions by PaleoJon
Last updated 19 March, 2024 - 2:20pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version