Plagiognathus fenderi, SCHUH, 2001

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 : 77-78

Plagiognathus fenderi , new species Figures 7 , 16 , 23

HOLOTYPE: Male : ‘‘[ USA] ORE[gon]. Yamhill Co., Top of Bald Mtn. , 13 July 1958, K. M. Fender’ ’. Deposited in the American Museum of Natural History.

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by medium size, generally dark coloration, including antennae and femora; corium between apex of clavus and base of membrane narrowly pale and base of cuneus narrowly pale, the membrane strongly fumose with entirely pale veins (fig. 7); dorsal vestiture composed of silvery, shining, slightly flattened and weakly woolly setae; anteocular distance nearly 2 times diameter of antennal segment 1. Similar in size and coloration to fuscipes , laricicola , pemptos , piceicola , and suffuscipennis specimens from the Rocky Mountain system; separated from all of those species by the anteocular distance being nearly 2 times diameter of antennal segment 1 rather than about 0.5 times; pemptos easily distinguished by its possession of nearly black, nonshining setae on the dorsum and veins of the membrane pale only along the posterior margin of the cells. Femora in fuscipes not so heavily darkened and that species feeding on Potentilla rather than Abies; piceicola and suffuscipennis with golden simple setae on dorsum and suffuscipennis without pale marking at base of cuneus and on the corium at the base of the membrane.

DESCRIPTION: Male: Medium sized, moderately elongate; total length 3.28– 4.00, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.36– 2.90, width across pronotum 1.02–1.16. COLORATION (fig. 7): General coloration of dorsum castaneous, corium narrowly pale adjacent to extreme base of membrane, and cuneus pale at base; clavus sometimes narrowly pale along all or part of claval suture; membrane mostly fumose with contrastingly pale veins; vertex tending toward pale, face at and below base of clypeus castaneous, polished and shining; antennae castaneous (fig. 16) except for pale apical annulus on segment 1; venter, coxae, and most of femora castaneous; trochanters and apex of all femora pale, yellow; dorsal tibial spines with dark spots at bases coalescing with one another, giving the appearance of banding when tibiae viewed from dorsal surface; tibiae dark at articulation with femora. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum weakly granular, smooth, dull. Vestiture of dorsum composed of silvery, shining, slightly flattened and weakly woolly setae. STRUCTURE: Body moderately elongate, corial margins weakly convex; frons conspicuously tumid and bulging beyond anterior margin of eyes in dorsal view, clypeus projecting and mostly visible in dorsal view; anteocular distance almost 2 times diameter of antennal segment 1; head projecting below level of eye by 1.5 times diameter of antennal segment 1; labium long, reaching just beyond apices of hind coxae. GENITALIA (fig. 23): Body of vesica relatively elongate, broadly curving basally, base falling well below level of secondary gonopore; posterior apical spine elongate, straight, weakly angled relative to body of vesica, anterior spine weakly angled relative to body of vesica, longer than posterior, rather sharply angled subapically; flange projecting only slightly beyond body of vesica, terminating just above base of secondary gonopore.

Female: Body more strongly ovoid than in male; coloration similar to male. Total length 3.44–3.67, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.44–2.69, width across pronotum 1.03– 1.13.

ETYMOLOGY: Named for K. M. Fender, collector of several of the available specimens, including the holotype.

HOSTS: Abies procera (Pinaceae) .

DISTRIBUTION: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, south to northern California and Utah.

PARATYPES: USA.— California: Placer Co. : 1.6 km SW of Tahoe City, Granlibakken Ski Res., August 5, 1983, T. W. Davies, 13, (CAS). Tuolumne Co.: Strawberry, August 8, 1929, P. W. Oman, L. D. Anderson, 53, 5♀ (KU, AMNH). Idaho: Latah Co.: Moscow, July 4, 1932, T. A. Brindley, 63, 4♀ (USNM). Montana: Mineral Co.: Haugan, August 9, 1931, R. H. Beamer, 1♀ (KU). Oregon: Benton Co.: Mary’s Peak, Saddle below campground, July 22, 1981, J. D. Lattin, 1♀ (OSU). Mary’s Peak, 3000 ft, July 17, 1968, P. W. Oman, 13, (OSU). Klamath Co.: Lake of the Woods, 4950 ft, July 18, 1930, H. A. Scullen, 23, 1♀ (USNM). Upper Klamath Lake, Dennie Creek, July 3, 1954, Joe Schuh, 13, (AMNH). Linn Co.: 11 mi NE of Blue River, H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest, T15S R5E Sec 24, 3850 ft, July 20, 1979, G. M. Cooper, Abies procera (Pinaceae) , 13 (OSU). Umatilla Co.: Meacham, July 14, 1931, H. T. Peters, 13, (KU). Union Co.: La Grande, June 26, 1926, E. W. Davis, 23, 3♀ (USNM). Yamhill Co.: top of Bald Mountain, July 13, 1958, K. M. Fender, 13, (OSU). Utah: Utah Co.: American Fork, American Fork Canyon, C. Jorgensen, 1♀ (AMNH).

Figures

Fig. 7. Habitus figures of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp. (see p. 263 for localities).

Fig. 16. Antennal segments 1 and 2 of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp.

Fig. 23. Male genitalia of Nearctic Plagiognathus spp.