minute moss bug - Ceratocombus vagans

Moved

… Jim McClarin, 7 December, 2006 - 7:50pm

Ceratocombus vagans

According to Stephen A. Marshall in Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, Ceratocombus vagans is the only northeastern member of this family. I note that the UNH New Hampshire checklist has two entries: Ceratocombus vagans and Ceratocombus sp. (Obviously at least one specimen stood out from the pack.)

… Jim McClarin, 7 December, 2006 - 7:49pm

Moved

Moved from True Bugs.

… Jim McClarin, 6 December, 2006 - 4:17pm

interesting find!

Dear Jim,

in any case, you photographed a new family for bugguide!

Because the bugs are translucent, but have fairly large wingsheats, they can be judged as late instar nymphs.

Characters visible in this stage do not allow for me to decide whether the species belongs in Ceratocombidae, Dipsocoridae or Microphysidae - but on the other hand, combined with size, exclude all other possibilities. It can´t be a mirid, because they overwinter as adult or as egg (this way predominates).

with kind regards, Boris

… Boris Büche, 6 December, 2006 - 11:40am

Ha!

I'd say you were writing your comment while Don Chandler was posting his :-) Thank you for explaining why this appears to be a late instar nymph and why it can't be a mirid. I'll bet Don has seen a good many of these in his pursuit of pselaphines.

… Jim McClarin, 6 December, 2006 - 4:32pm

I have.

They are at times common in wet leaf litter by bogs, marshes, and wet depressions in the forest where pselaphines abound. However, unless you use specialized equipment to process the leaf litter, you rarely see them. Of the families Boris listed, only Ceratocombids occur in our area - dipsocorids are indeed similar, but don't occur this far north.

… Donald S. Chandler, 6 December, 2006 - 9:27pm

Ceratocombidae: Ceratocombus sp.

An immature Ceratocombus.

… Donald S. Chandler, 6 December, 2006 - 11:34am

Thank you, Don.

A number of new families I've turned up for bugguide appear to be the result of looking where nobody else has looked. At the 2005 Maine Beetle Blitz I did try blowing air through a collection of mosses with a contraption I built specifically for that purpose. I got a few critters but I think most remained in the moss, which did not dry out like I hoped. Maybe if I hooked a ceramic heater up to the blower intake I would have better luck.

… Jim McClarin, 6 December, 2006 - 4:25pm