Species Chinavia marginata

Acrosternum (Chinavia) marginatum (Palisot)

Chinavia marginata (Palisot de Beauvois 1817)

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Almost identical to C. hilaris yet much less common, although at times it can predominate in a small area. C. marginatum has a yellow border around most of its body, especially on the face, but C. hilaris may have a yellow border, too. The best way to tell the two apart is by the antennae. In C. hilare , the distal antennomeres are black and white, while in C. marginatum there is no white but instead the bluish green of the base of the antennae continues to the distal segments. It holds true on all individuals I've seen and also on mating and associating insects.(1)

Note from A. Meeds: This character can be very helpful in distinguishing C. hilaris and C. marginata from FL-TX but in much of the western US, C. hilaris frequently exhibits blue antennal coloring. This may be related to results from Barman et al. (2017) which found enough genetic variation between C. hilaris from the pacific coast and the eastern US to suggest the presence of a cryptic species. More work likely needs to be done.

so. US (CA-TX, FL) to Columbia / W. Indies - Map (2)(3)(4), mostly TX, FL (BG data)

Barman, A. K., Joyce, A. L., Torres, R., & Higbee, B. S. (2017). Assessing Genetic Diversity in Four Stink Bug Species, Chinavia hilaris, Chlorochroa uhleri, Chlorochroa sayi, and Thyanta pallidovirens (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), using DNA barcodes. Journal of Economic Entomology, 110(6), 2590-2598.

Species page (2)