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Photo#1478821
Mountain flower patch bug - Tollius setosus

Mountain flower patch bug - Tollius setosus
Piute Mountain, Kern County, California, USA
June 18, 2017
I was lying on the ground photographing abundant flowers in a open coniferous forest at about 8000' elevation, when I found this bug walking along on my shirt.

I recall it being of pretty good-size, like that of a coreid, but I figure it could very well be something else. I'm curious to learn what?

Images of this individual: tag all
Mountain flower patch bug - Tollius setosus Mountain flower patch bug - Tollius setosus Mountain flower patch bug - Tollius setosus

Moved
Moved from Tollius.

Moved
Moved from True Bugs.

T. setosus?

 
Thank you, Ken, for figuring yet another one I missed :-)
Once again, you're right on!

I'm left with little doubt that this is indeed Tollius setosus, after checking out the pre-existing BugGuide posts:

                 

...the curated photos below (click thumbnails for the full size images, courtesy of the Spencer Collection of the Univ. of British Columbia):

      Dorsal image from UBC       Dorsal image from UBC

...and, finally, cross-referencing all the above with a careful reading of Van Duzee's original 1906 description of Alydus (= Tollius) setosus.

In particular, beyond the match in general gestalt, the following combination of characters are apparently diagnostic: the very narrow white medial line extending from the anterior tip of the clypeus to the posterior protuberance of the scutellum; the pale-whitish inner margins of the elytra (posterior portion of the trademark heteropteran "X" marking); the white stripes on the cheeks, extending under the eyes and continuing (more narrowed) onto the thorax; the scattered black spots on the sides of the abdomen; the overall hairiness (whence the epithet "setosus")...except for the glabrous terminal antennal segments; the size, color, and arrangement of the spines on the hind femora; etc.

The parallel-wavy venation of the wing membranes...with their strange "embossed dew-drop" markings...are interesting and also seem distinctive.

The BugGuide posts suggest this species ranges high and low in central California, from the coast to the mountains and desert beyond.

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