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Genus Phytocoris
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 Phytocoris
Explanation of Names 'plant bug'
Numbers ~300 spp. in our area, ~700 total (1)Identification Adult is dark gray to light brown, mottled with yellow, white, or dark brown spots. No median line of white hairs, lateral margins of pronotum not sharply ridged (2)
Hind legs long: hind femora and tibiae about twice as long as mid & front femora and tibiae. Range throughout NA and the world Habitat shrubs and trees in woodlands, parks, orchards Life Cycle one generation per year; overwinter as eggs Remarks one of the largest and most complex mirid genera (2)
1. Eastern species are divided into four groups: (3)(4)
Group I: Wing membrane confusedly sprinkled with discolored or dark spots, or with numerous, minute, pale spots
Species: albifacies, antennalis, breviusculus, conspurcatus, corticevivens, davisi, dimidiatus, garyi (= falcatus) (5)(6), fumatus, inops, kerrvillensis(5), minutulus, purvus, suicatus, tuberculatus, ulmi
* junceus group: brimleyi, broweri, crawfordi, dreisbachi, fenestratus, hoffmani, junceus, michiganae, pleuroimos, proctori
* lasiomerus group: lasiomerus, pallidicornis, rubropictus
Group II (Blatchley's Group III): Wing membrane marbled, uniformly dark brown or uniformly light colored, never with many minute spots; A1 > (head width); and antennae black or fuscous
Species: albitylus, angustulus, annulicornis, arundinicola, brevifurcatus, buenoi, canadensis, cortitectus, erectus, eximius, husseyi, lacunosus, neglectus, nigricollis, obtectus, onustus, pectinatus, salicis, schotti, spicatus
Group III (Blatchley's Group II): Wing membrane marbled, uniformly dark brown or uniformly light colored, never with many minute spots; A1 < (head width); and A1 not red with yellow spots, but yellow, yellow with dark spots or brown to almost black
Species: angustifrons, conspersipes, diversus, exemplus, fulvus, junipericola, mundus, pinicola, rufus, uniformis
Group IV: Wing membrane marbled, uniformly dark brown or uniformly light colored, never with many minute spots; either [ A1 > (head width) and antennae pale ] or [ A1 < (head width) and A1 red with yellow spots ]
Species: caryae, confluens, depictus, infuscatus, luteolus, olseni, puella, pseudonymus , quercicola, rubellus, taxodii, tibialis, venustus
Works Cited | 2. | How to Know the True Bugs
Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. 1978. Wm. C. Brown Company. | |
| 3. | The Plant Bugs, or Miridae, of Illinois
Knight, Harry, H. 1941. State of illinois. | |
| 4. | Heteroptera of Eastern North America
W.S. Blatchley. 1926. The Nature Publishing Company. | |
| 6. | Miscellanea Miridologica (Insecta: Heteroptera)
Michal D. Schwartz & Frédéric Chérot. 2005. Magnolia Press. | |
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