Minute Pirate Bug - probably Orius tristicolor - Orius

Moved

… Lynette Schimming, 14 July, 2008 - 8:51am

Orius vs. Orius

O.insidiosus, according to pest control dealer and according to USDA/Wikipedia;
O.tisticolor according to Britannica and Shennan Lab;

I noticed that you can find both spp. also labeled with the opposite name, but "tristicolor" sure applies better to this one, and it is said to be more common in western states.

… Boris Büche, 14 July, 2008 - 5:03am

Thanks, Boris.

I'm thinking O. tristicolor now, too.

… Ron Hemberger, 14 July, 2008 - 10:22am

Orius insidiosus

I read in Eric's guide (Kaufman Field Guide) that insidiosus is only found East of the Rocky Mountains. There are four other species in this genus that are on the west coast, but I don't know what they are..

… Lynette Schimming, 27 March, 2007 - 8:19pm

To be on the safe side, I 'softened' the reference.

This was my second post on this insect; the first had info about the ID. At that time, I was convinced it was O. insidious, but don't recall why at this point. O. tristicolor was another possibility.
See:

Commercial shipment of O. insidious for pest control does raise some questions. The supplier reports that they ship to all fifty states. The arboretum does not use insecticides, but I'm unsure about more natural controls. Thanks for your interest, Lynette.

… Ron Hemberger, 27 March, 2007 - 9:20pm

Interesting,

I wonder who regulates to the shipping of insects to non-native areas?

… Lynette Schimming, 27 March, 2007 - 9:54pm

Dunno. You'd think USPS, minimally.

Decades ago, California was really strict about produce arriving in the state, whether by plane, private car, or whatever. That seems to be over now.

In the nineties, the state had a very ineffective PR program using roadside signs to address such matters. Today, they don't seem to care about the once-feared Medfly, but are interested in something called, I think, Oriental fruit fly. Not so PC, eh?

Hey, we have people at Bug Guide mailing critters to researchers in other places, right? Who regulates that?

… Ron Hemberger, 27 March, 2007 - 10:20pm