Mecidea longula Stål (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Mecideini) is established in south Florida

Authors

Joseph E. Eger, Jr., Dow AgroSciences, LLCFollow
Thomas T. Dobbs, USDA-APHIS, Miami, FL

Date of this Version

1-2010

Comments

Published in Insecta Mundi 0109: 1-5. Published in 2010 by
Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc.
P. O. Box 141874
Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 U.S.A.
http://www.centerforsystematicentomology.org/

Abstract

A Caribbean species of Mecidea Dallas, M. longula Stål, apparently established in south Florida, is reported from the United States for the first time. Specimens were first collected in February 2008 in a light trap operated in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Collections in that trap have continued through the present. Searches near the trap location resulted in several specimens being taken from smutgrass, Sporobolus indicus (L.), an exotic grass now established throughout much of the southeastern United States. The three North American species of Mecidea are keyed and illustrated. In addition to the Florida locality, M. longula is reported for the first time from the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, St. Martin, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Corrected version, issued March 11, 2011; corrects minor error in presented label data.