HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

See 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

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

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 » Stenodemini » Leptopterna » Meadow Plant Bug (Leptopterna dolabrata)

Species Leptopterna dolabrata - Meadow Plant Bug

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Works Cited

Unidentified Insect - Leptopterna dolabrata

Leptopterna dolabrata - Meadow Plant Bug - Leptopterna dolabrata

Meadow Plant Bug - Leptopterna dolabrata

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 Stenodemini

Genus Leptopterna

Species dolabrata (Meadow Plant Bug)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Leptopterna dolabrata (Linnaeus)

Orig. Comb: Cimex dolabratus Linnaeus, 1758

Syn: Miris dolabratus (Linnaeus)

Numbers

3 Nearctic spp. (1)

Size

7-10 mm

Identification

Stiff black setae on A1 with at least some longer and more erect than rest; A1 ~ (head width); female with A2 much thinner than front tibiae (2)

Range

widely dist. in NA, but less common across s. US (NM-GA-NS-BC) (1)

native to Europe, adventive in NA (first record: MA 1832)(3)(4)

Habitat

fields, meadows

Season

Apr-July (BG data)

Food

Mainly grasses; vetch and cranberry also reported as hosts

Will switch host grass from one generation to the next depending on nitrogen availability.(5)

Works Cited

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

2.	The genus Leptopterna Fieber (Heteroptera:Miridae: Stenodemini) in North America G.G.E. Scudder and Michael D. Schwartz. 2001. Entomological Society of Washington.

3.	Schuh, R.T. 2002-2013. On-line Systematic Catalog of Plant Bugs (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae).

4.	A Synthesis of the Holarctic Miridae (Heteroptera): Distribution, Biology, and Origin, with Emphasis on North America A. G., Jr. Wheeler & Thomas J. Henry. 1992. Entomological Society of America.

5.	Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities P. W. Price, R. F. Denno, M. D. Eubanks. 2011. Cambridge University Press.

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 27 March, 2005 - 7:32pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, v belov, onegunah, Marci Hess
Last updated 30 August, 2023 - 8:04am

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 © 2003-2023 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version