Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#1622658
Symphypleona - Sminthurinus

Symphypleona - Sminthurinus
Packwood, Lewis County, Washington, USA
December 19, 2018
Size: 1 mm
Might this be Sminthurinus elegans, a dark form? The antennae look like the right proportions for segments and the legs are light. It doesn't show well on these photos but another one from a different area appears to have a darker circle of ocelli with a lighter interior. It also looks like some brown color at the back of the head and near the posterior, similar to another photo in Bug Guide. On white trim of a garage wall.

Images of this individual: tag all
Symphypleona - Sminthurinus Symphypleona - Sminthurinus Symphypleona - Sminthurinus

Moved

Sminthurinus nr niger
Changed my mind due to recent posts from Bob. Sorry...

Moved

Sminthurinus atrapallidus
S. elegans is to be excluded. See dorsal shot : abd.5 not included in large abdomen. If the legs were dark as well I would match S. niger.

 
Thanks. I'll need to look at
Thanks. I'll need to look at some better photos to understand their morphology. Collembola org is a great resource in addition to Bug Guide. These dark ones are hard to expose correctly.

 
If your population of niger lookalikes...
is showing the diagnostic characters constantly and persistantly in all specimens of the population, it could be a new species.
Candidate diagnostic characters to keep in mind :
1. dark body
2. dark antennae; but ant.2 distinctly more pale than other segments
3. pale legs

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.