Species Tropicus pusillus

Heterocerus pusillus Say 1823, Heterocerus luteolus LeConte 1863, Heterocerus limbatus Kiesenwetter 1843

Tropicus pusillus (Say 1823)

2.3-3.0 mm(1)

the elytra are orange laterally and share a faint medial brown stripe that covers about one-third of the surface; easily distinguished from other se.US heterocerids by color pattern(1)

e NA to AZ (QC-ON to Panama) and Cuba(1)(2)(BG data)

along with Heterocerus mollinus, the only heterocerid in the se. US often collected from non-riverine environments (e.g. roadside ditches)(1)

Despite its abundance, virtually nothing is known of its biology(1)

one of the most common and widespread heterocerids in the Western Hemisphere, the most commonly collected heterocerid in e. US(1), and the most commonly coll'ed beetle sp. (>15K spmns at UV light traps) at Laguna Atascosa NWR, Rio Hondo, Cameron Co., TX (3)

The orange-brown elytra and indistinct elytral markings make it easy to confuse H. selanderi with T. pusillus without the aid of a microscope. Elytral pattern is different, T. pusillus having one common macula and H. selanderi being trifasciate. H. selanderi primarily occurs in Florida. T. nigrellus (a rare sp., NC-FL-MS) is black, with no dorsal pattern.(1)