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Photo#1818382
Way-northeast Lepto - Leptomantispa pulchella

Way-northeast Lepto - Leptomantispa pulchella
Amethyst Brook Conservation Area vicinity, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
July 9, 2010
I identified this critter years ago, not long after photographing it, but for whatever reason had never uploaded it here. Came back across it today and noticed that it is further northeast, by a few states, than any other record on either BugGuide or iNat. This made me reconsider the ID, so I read the detailed comments on here by Aaron Schusteff. After that, it still appears to be L. pulchella; its pronotum is very smooth, none of the ridges expected on a Dicromantispa. It also has the antennae of a Lepto, dark with a contrasting yellow basal segment, not the tricolored antennae of a Dicro; the discussion on others here indicates that this is not a 100% reliable character, but does provide some extra support to the smooth pronotum, I think. And, though my photos do not show the wing veination very clearly, they look to me to have fewer cells than the Dicro pics here on the Guide... Update: Russell Pfau, biology professor from Tarleton State and iNat curator, has backed this ID.

Images of this individual: tag all
Way-northeast Lepto - Leptomantispa pulchella Way-northeast Lepto - Leptomantispa pulchella Way-northeast Lepto - Leptomantispa pulchella