plant bug

Phytocoris eximius is a small, native, plant bug. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada east of the Great Plains.

Adults are active from March to September. They are found on shrubs and trees. The biology of this species is uncertain, but it is probably mostly if not entirely predaceous.

Adults are 3⁄16″ to ¼″ (5.1 to 6.2 mm) in length and 1⁄16″ (2.00 to 2.05 mm) wide. The body is elongated oval. It is light yellowish brown or grayish brown to greenish (pale) with dark grayish brown to black (dark) and reddish markings. The surface is thinly covered with pale or brownish gray, partially erect hairs and prostrate yellowish hairs.

The head is pale. The front of the head has numerous oblique black lines and is covered with long pale hairs. The top of the head (vertex) has numerous reddish dots. The compound eyes are large. There are no simple eyes (ocelli). The mouth parts are optimized for piercing and sucking. They take the form of a long, 4-segmented beak. The beak is mostly pale, but it is blackish toward the tip. When not used, it extends from the front of the head, along the underside of the body between the legs, to the base of the plate (ventral) on the fourth abdominal segment. The antennae are slender and thread-like. They have 4 segments. Segment 1 is dark with pale spots. Segments 2 and 3 are mostly dark, pale just at the very base. Segment 4 is blackish.

The exoskeletal plate covering the first segment of the thorax (pronotum) is widest at the base and much narrower behind the head. It has a short but distinct, exposed collar in front. There is a small, oval tubercle (callus) at the front outer angle on each side of the pronotum behind the collar. The pronotum is mostly dark, often paler grayish green at the front, and with a few to many pale dots. The surface is distinctly hairy, with even longer hairs at the front angles.

There are two pairs of wings, and they are held flat over the body when at rest. The exoskeletal plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is large, triangular, and mostly dark. There is a black dash on each side near the tip, and the tip itself is pale greenish. The front wings (hemelytra) are longer than the hind wings and a little longer than the body. The hemelytra 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 clavus is mostly dark but pale on the inner margin. There are often greenish spots and there are always numerous pale dots. The corium is pale at the base and in the middle, and there is a pale triangular spot just before the cuneus. It also has numerous pale dots. The cuneus pale at the base, grading to black at the tip, and it has numerous pale dots. The membrane is dark at the base but otherwise pale with darkish spots. The veins are white bordered inside with dark, but they are often faint or indistinct.

The hind wings are thin and membranous.

The legs are relatively long. They are pale with numerous dark markings. The third segment (femur) of each leg is pale at the base. The femurs on the hind leg is mostly dark with pale spots near the tip.

Total length: 3⁄16″ to ¼″ (5.1 to 6.2 mm)

One generation per year: March to September

Eggs overwinter.

Sources

29, 30, 82, 83.

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

Alfredo Colon
8/16/2022

Location: Albany, NY