Psallus astericola Knight, 1930: 125

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 : 45

Psallus astericola Knight, 1930: 125 (n. sp.).

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by the relatively small size, black coloration of body and all femora (fig. 6), antennal segment 2 entirely dark in males (pale on about apical one­half in females) (fig. 15), and the silvery, flattened, weakly scalelike setae on the dorsum, pleuron, and abdominal venter intermixed with reclining, dark, simple setae. Similar in coloration of the antennae and type of vestiture to alnicenatus, morrisoni , and parshleyi ; distinguished from them by the smaller size and antennal segment 2 being pale in females but dark in both sexes of the other three.

REDESCRIPTION: Male: Elongate, nearly parallel­sided, small; total length 2.84–3.05, length apex clypeus–cuneal fracture 2.00– 2.13, width across pronotum 0.91–0.96. COLORATION (fig. 6): Almost entirely castaneous to nearly black, except metathoracic scent­gland evaporatory area mostly pale; membrane fumose, veins fumose except pale along posterior margin of cells; tibial background coloration pale, dorsal tibial spines with dark spots at bases, tibiae broadly dark at articulation with femur. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum weakly granular, smooth, faintly shining. Vestiture of dorsum, pleuron, and abdominal venter laterally composed of flattened, scalelike, silvery setae intermixed with dark simple setae. STRUC­ TURE: More or less parallel­sided, lateral corial margins only very weakly convex; frons weakly convex, clypeus visible from above; anteocular distance equal to diameter of antennal segment 1; head projecting below eye by 1.5 times diameter of antennal segment 1; labium reaching to about apex of hind coxae. GENITALIA (fig. 21): Body of vesica moderately stout, J­shaped, base of vesica well below level of secondary gonopore, apical spines only moderately elongate, posterior spine nearly straight, forming an oblique angle with body of vesica, anterior spine longer than posterior, weakly angled subapically, forming about 45° angle with body of vesica; flange narrow, reaching to about base of gonopore.

Female: Body form much more strongly ovoid than in males; antennal segment 1 with basal one­third dark, remainder pale (fig. 15). Total length 2.79–2.99, length apex clypeus– cuneal fracture 1.93–2.14, width across pronotum 0.92–0.99.

HOST: Aster sericeus (Asteraceae) (Knight, 1941).

DISTRIBUTION: In the present study record­ ed from Iowa and North Dakota.

DISCUSSION: Knight (1930) described astericola in Psallus , on the basis of the silvery, scalelike vestiture of the dorsum. The genitalia are clearly those of a Plagiognathus species , however. My concept of this species is based on examination of a large number of paratypes designated by the author.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: USA.— Arkansas: Benton Co.: 1.5 mi N of Decatur on Hwy 59, May 24, 1986, C. B. Barr, 13, 1♀ (LSU). Iowa: Story Co.: Ames, June 1, 1925, H. H. Knight, 4♀ (USNM). Ames, June 2, 1925 – June 9, 1925, H. H. Knight, Aster sericeus (Asteraceae) , paratypes: 253, 25♀ (USNM). Woodbury Co.: Sioux City, June 12, 1950, J. A. Slater and J. Laffoon, 23, 1♀ (USNM). Sioux City, June 12, 1950, Slater and Laffoon, 153, 24♀ (AMNH). North Dakota: Traill Co.: No specific locality, July 19, 1923, A. A. Nichol, 13 (USNM).