Plagiognathus urticae Knight, 1964: 148

SCHUH, RANDALL T., 2001, Revision Of New World Plagiognathus Fieber, With Comments On The Palearctic Fauna And The Description Of A New Genus (Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2001 (266), pp. 1-267 : 237

Plagiognathus urticae Knight, 1964: 148 (n. sp.).

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by its relatively large size, elongate nearly parallel­sided body form, dark brown coloration (fig. 14), and vestiture of silvery, shining, recumbent, somewhat shaggy, simple setae. Most similar in size, coloration, and body conformation among western species to emarginatae (fig. 7), but that species with weakly scalelike setae on the dorsum. Also possibly confused with totally dark specimens of brunneus , lineatus , and shoshonea , but body form always somewhat broader and not so distinctly parallel­sided in those species.

REDESCRIPTION: Male: Moderately large, elongate, nearly parallel­sided; total length 4.21–4.47, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.73–3.00, width across pronotum 1.20– 1.30. COLORATION (fig. 14): General coloration dark brown; posterior margin of vertex and mesoscutum mostly olive; membrane fumose, veins pale at least on posterior margin of cells and an adjoining small, triangular patch at posterior inner angle of cuneus pale; antennae entirely dark (fig. 19); labium castaneous; venter of thorax and abdomen castaneous, most of metathoracic scent­gland evaporatory area and area surrounding mesothoracic spiracle pale; coxae, trochanters, and femora castaneous, or largely so; dorsal tibial spines with black spots at bases; tibiae black at articulation with femora, sometimes more extensively so on dorsal surface. SUR­ FACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum weakly granular, smooth, weakly shining. Vestiture of dorsum composed of rather densely placed, silvery, shining, recumbent, somewhat shaggy, simple setae. STRUCTURE: Body elongate, nearly parallel­sided; frons weakly bulging and only slightly projecting beyond anterior margin of eyes in dorsal view, clypeus barely visible from above; anteocular distance equal to diameter of antennal segment 1; head projecting below eye by diameter of antennal segment 1; labium reaching to about apex of middle coxae. GENITALIA (fig. 33): Body of vesica more or less J­shaped, base of vesica falling well below level of secondary gonopore, posterior apical spine weakly curving, almost erect relative to body of vesica, anterior spine slightly longer than posterior, not straight, and forming nearly a right angle with body of vesica; flange moderately broad, reaching to about basal one­third of secondary gonopore.

Female: Similar to male in coloration but body conspicuously ovoid in outline. Total length 3.55–3.71, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.49–2.76, width across pronotum 1.18–1.27.

HOSTS: Amorpha californica (Fabacaeae) ; Urtica gracilis holosericea (Urticaceae) .

DISTRIBUTION: Southern California.

DISCUSSION: Described from a male (holotype) and female (allotype) only. Allotype labelled as having been collected on Urtica gracilis holosericea .

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: USA.— California: Los Angeles Co. : Los Angeles, September 1, 1908, 13 (CAS); Paratype: 13 (CAS). San Gabriel River, April 7, 1936, E. L. Paddock, 1♀ (USNM); holotype male (USNM). San Bernardino Co.: 2 mi E of Camp Angelus, June 28, 1978, J. D. Pinto, Amorpha californica (Fabaceae) , 193, 10♀ (AMNH). Kilpecker Creek, San Bernardino Mts, 5600 ft, July 11, 1964, E. I. Schlinger, 13 (UCR).