Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Cimicomorpha » Miroidea » Plant Bugs (Miridae) » Phylinae » Phylini » Oncotylina » Plagiognathus » Obscure Plant Bug (Plagiognathus obscurus)
Photo#953563
Plant Bug - Plagiognathus obscurus - female
Copyright © 2014 John Rosenfeld

Plant Bug - Plagiognathus obscurus - Female
Allison Park, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA
June 20, 2014
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by John Rosenfeld on 9 July, 2014 - 8:37am
Last updated 17 June, 2016 - 10:59pm

Plagiognathus obscurus Uhler, female
Moved from Plagiognathus. ID'd from specimen, now a photo-voucher. Thanks John.

Pretty sure it is this species, unless perhaps it could have come from a birch (Betula sp.).
… Brad Barnd, 17 June, 2016 - 10:02pm login or register to post comments

 
I do have birch here
so it's possible. They seem to be one of the few deciduous trees that deer don't eat so there are lots of saplings.
… John Rosenfeld, 17 June, 2016 - 10:36pm login or register to post comments

 
so there is another possibility
P. parshleyi (Knight) looks similar but feeds on Betulus & Alnus. It has a quadrate spot very similar to your specimen. Also would have "some flattened, weakly scalelike, silvery setae" on the dorsum, especially the pronotum (as opposed to only shining golden, simple setae in P. obscurus) (1). I don't see silvery setae, so it more likely the more commonly seen P. obscurus, which is taken on a variety of annual, weedy plants.

But if you find this again, and it is on birch, I will have to reconsider. :)
… Brad Barnd, 17 June, 2016 - 10:52pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Plant Bugs.
… WonGun Kim, 11 July, 2014 - 3:18am login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact