plant bug

not listed

not listed

not listed

Hyaliodes harti is a small, colorful, soft-bodied, plant bug. It occurs in North America east of the Great Plains. It is rare in Minnesota, where it is at the western extent of its range. It is found in woodlands, parks, and orchards on a very wide variety of trees and shrubs, including apple, pear, oak, alder, raspberry, plum, and grape. It feeds on small arthropods, including mites, aphids, and psyllids (jumping plant lice).

Adults are 3⁄16″ (5.0 to 5.3 mm) long and 1⁄16″ (1.5 to 1.8 mm) wide. The body is soft, long, slender, and more or less parallel along the sides.

The head is vertical, pale green, and tinged with red. The neck is distinct and visible from above. There are two large, black, compound eyes and no simple eyes (ocelli). The eyes are situated on the side of the head forward from the rear margin of the head. The area between the eyes is brown. The mouth parts take the form of a long, 4-segmented beak (rostrum) that projects downward and is optimized for piercing and sucking. The rostrum is 1⁄32″ (1.2 to 1.3 mm) long. The antennae are slender, thread-like, and long, about as long as the forewings (hemelytra). They have 4 segments. The first segment is bright red and long. On the male it is as long as the upper thoracic shield (pronotum) is wide at the base. On the female it is shorter, four-fifths the width of the pronotum at the base. The second segment reddish to black and longer than the first segment. The remaining segments may be pale or dark.

The pronotum is widest at the base and much narrower behind the head. It is deeply pitted (punctate) and has a distinct, exposed collar. It is light green behind the head grading to brown at the base, with a thin pale longitudinal stripe in the middle. The front margin, just behind the collar is black, often with a pale spot in the middle. There is a small rounded tubercle (callus) at the front outer angle on each side of the pronotum behind the collar. The collar and calli are both black.

The exoskeletal plate between the wing bases (scutellum), is large, triangular, and mostly black, white just at the tip. There are two pairs of wings. The front wings (hemelytra) are longer than the hind wings and much longer than the body. They are held flat over the body when at rest. They are completely transparent and shiny, appearing glassy. They have a thickened, leathery part at the base and a thin membranous part at the tip with a clear dividing line between the two. The thickened part is comprised of the narrow area (clavus) behind the scutellum when the wings are closed, and the broad marginal area (corium). At the end of the corium there is a small but distinct triangular area (cuneus). The inner margin of the clavus is black. The tip of the corium is red. The veins and the area at the inner margin near the tip of the corium (anal angle) are dark. The cuneus and membranous portion are clear. There a single closed cell visible in the membranous portion of each hemelytra. The hind wing is completely thin and membranous.

The legs are long, slender, and pale green or yellowish. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has 3 segments. There is a pair of claws at the end of the last tarsal segment. Between the claws there is a pair of slender, straight, hair-like appendages (parempodia). There is no pad at the base of each claw.

Total length: 3⁄16″ (5.0 to 5.3 mm)

Woodlands, parks, orchards

June to August

Eggs overwinter and hatch in the spring when the host plant is producing new shoots. Nymphs pass through 5 stages (instars), each stage lasting 5 to 7 days.

Small arthropods, including mites, aphids, and jumping plant lice

Small arthropods, including mites, aphids, and jumping plant lice; and plant juices from leaves

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Rare in Minnesota

This species has no common name. The common name for the family Miridae is plant bugs, and it is applied here for convenience.

Location: Woodbury, MN