Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Carl Wilhelm Hahn (1786 - 1835), a German zoologist, described the genus in 1833.
Genus revised by Kelton (1975)
Numbers
31 species are left after Schwartz et al.
(1) created two new genera
Henrylygus and
Nonlygus.
(34 spp north of Mexico per Arnett (1985)
(2))
Size
body 3 mm wide and 6 mm long
Identification
Adult: body either mottled or solid color varying from pale green to reddish-brown or black with pale Y or V shape on scutellum; antennae and legs relatively long
Nymph: young nymphs are pale green and wingless or have tiny wing buds that grow with age; older nymphs take on more adult coloration and develop 5 black dorsal spots (2 pairs straddling the midline of the thorax, and 1 spot on the midline of the abdomen)
Range
Lygus lineolaris occurs in all Canadian provinces, the continental United States, and most of the states of Mexico (Young 1986).
Habitat
fields, ground cover or low shrubs in deciduous woodlands
Season
active from spring through fall
Food
Host plants include alfalfa, canola, lentils, potato, strawberries, vegetable crops, flax, hemp, fababean, tree fruits and weeds such as redroot pigweed, stinkweed, wild mustard, lambsquarters.
Over half of the cultivated plant species grown in the United States are listed as host plants for tarnished plant bugs (Capinera 2001).
Life Cycle
overwinters as an adult under fallen leaves or other ground cover; one generation per year in the far north; several generations in the south
Remarks
"There are a great many (approximately 46) very closely related species in this genus and their accurate identification depends upon the use of characters found in the male and female genitalia. A critical study of these populations using modern population concepts would be of great value as some "species" look suspiciously like geographic races."
(3)See Also
Important plant pest:
One of the most abundant of all Hemiptera in the eastern and central states.
(3)Print References
Capinera, J.L. 2001. Handbook of Vegetable Pests. Academic Press, San Diego. 729 pp.
Kelton, L.A. 1975. The plant bugs (genus Lygus Hahn) of North America (Heteroptera: Miridae). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 95: 1-101.
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.
