Boisea on topkilled Acer negundo - Boisea trivittata Sevenmile Creek, 8 km NW of Helena, Lewis and Clark County, Montana, USA August 30, 2021 Size: 11.6 mm
Hemipteran, black wings with narrow orange stripes, 10+ landing on tips of branches in the upper half of the canopy of a topkilled Acer negundo - not on live shoots near the base. Ruderal floodplain community with Kochia scoparia, Chenopodium simplex, Chenopodium berlandieri, Helianthus annuus, and Cleome serrulata. Mid-afternoon, sunny, 79 F, good air quality, light air varying to light breeze.
Elevation ca 4000 feet. Disturbed riparian corridor on stream restoration site within a patchwork of native and non-native grassland.
Keyed to genus in Slater & Baranowski 1978 (where treated as Leptocoris). Family characteristics include numerous veins in the FW membrane; conspicuous, tuberculate ocelli; the pronotum with a median ridge; and the metathoracic scent gland openings small or absent. Within the family, the large size and particular pattern of red coloration on the pronotum and coria seems fairly distinctive; other characteristics to look for include the lateral notch just behind the anterior margin of the pronotum; the lack of prominent spines on the hind femora; and the bucculae only about half the length of the head. Within the genus, however, distinguishing between the western B. rubrolineata and the eastern B. trivittata seems a bit more fraught. This seems more like B. rubrolineata based on the raised, reddish veins on the corium (but some of the veins are black on this specimen); however, there seem to be a number of BugGuide photos identified as B. trivittata that also have this character. Help would be appreciated!
Images of this individual: tag all Contributed by Shane Sater on 30 November, 2021 - 1:45pm Last updated 30 November, 2021 - 4:14pm |