The ambush bug Phymata vicina vicina Handlirsch, 1897 (Reduviidae: Phymatinae) is reported from Michigan for the first time, corroborating prior predictions.  An additional couplet is provided to amend the previous key to the phymatine species of Michigan

Swanson, Daniel R

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 50 
Numbers 1 & 2 -- Spring/Summer 2017 
Numbers 1 & 2 -- Spring/Summer 2017 
Article 8 
September 2017 
Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug Phymata vicina vicina 
(Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in Michigan 
Daniel R. Swanson 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, drswanny@gmail.com 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Swanson, Daniel R. 2017. "Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug Phymata vicina vicina (Heteroptera: 
Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 50 (1) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol50/iss1/8 
This Scientific Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has 
been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For 
more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
40 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 50, Nos. 1–2
Thirty-two species of Reduviidae, in 
20 genera, were previously known from 
Michigan (McPherson 1992, Swanson 2013). 
Of that diversity, the subfamily known as 
ambush bugs constitutes only a small por-
tion. Recently, I provided a synopsis of the 
two species found in the state (i.e., Swanson 
2013), while noting the potential presence of 
a single additional species, Phymata vicina 
vicina Handlirsch, 1897. In support of my 
prediction, a specimen of P. v. vicina was 
discovered among undetermined material 
during a visit to the C. A. Triplehorn Insect 
Collection of The Ohio State University 
(OSUC). The specimen (Fig. 1) bears the 
following label data: MICHIGAN: Macomb 
Co., Richmond, 25 June 1969, Brivio, det. D. 
R. Swanson 2016, OSUC_651131 [1 male]. 
The specimen was collected in the south-
ern part of the Lower Peninsula, which is 
unsurprising given the species’ presence in 
adjacent Midwest states and the collecting 
bias for this region of Michigan. However, 
based on other state and provincial records 
in North America, latitude alone likely does 
not exclude this species from the northern 
extremes of Michigan, and it remains to be 
seen how widely this species is distributed in 
the state. Its unreported status appears to be 
attributable to lower abundance than other 
native ambush bugs, as P. v. vicina is rela-
tively easy to distinguish from congeners.
This species is known from Alberta, 
Arizona, British Columbia, Colorado, Con-
necticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, 
Manitoba, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New 
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode 
Island, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, 
Utah, and Virginia, as well as Washington, 
D.C. (Froeschner 1988, Maw et al. 2000). 
Additionally, records of P. vicina from Cal-
ifornia, Missouri, and North Carolina are 
archived in the Heteroptera Species Pages 
of the Plant Bug Planetary Biodiversity 
Inventory (Schuh 2017), although the sub-
specific identities of these specimens are 
potentially confounded with Phymata vicina 
parvula Kormilev, 1957, known from Texas 
(Froeschner 1988). Blatchley (1926), Evans 
(1931), and Kormilev (1957, 1960) each 
contributed additional information about 
this species.
In Michigan, P. v. vicina is easily 
distinguished from all other congeners by 
its small size and distinctly toothed connex-
ival margin (Fig. 1). The latter character is 
similar to that of Phymata fasciata fasciata 
(Gray 1832), although P. f. fasciata, despite 
not being limited to the Gulf States, appears 
to be latitudinally-excluded from Michigan 
(Swanson, unpublished). My previous key 
to species (i.e., Swanson 2013) should be 
amended by inserting the following couplet 
at the beginning of the key:
0  Size small, length 5–6.5 mm; 
second through fourth connexival 
segments strongly toothed, fifth 
and sixth strongly salient [Fig. 1]; 
scutellum with linear or sublinear 
carina, lateral branches absent or 
obsolet ...............Phymata v. vicina
0’  Size larger, length usually greater 
than 7 mm; connexival margin es-
sentially smooth, if toothed, then 
inconspicuously so; scutellum with 
cruciform carina, lateral branches 
well-developed ..............................1
Acknowledgments
I thank Luciana Musetti, C. A. Triple-
horn Insect Collection, The Ohio State Uni-
versity (OSUC) for the loan of material from 
the collection under her care, and Sam W. 
Heads (INHS) for his sponsorship regarding 
the loan. I also owe thanks to two anonymous 
reviewers for comments on the initial draft 
of the manuscript.
Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug Phymata vicina vicina 
(Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in Michigan
Daniel R. Swanson
Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 
320 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801
Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 
1816 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820-6960
(e-mail: drswanny@gmail.com).
1
Swanson: Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug in Michigan
Published by ValpoScholar, 2017
2017 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 41
Literature Cited
Blatchley, W. S. 1926. Family XVII. Phymatidae 
Laporte, 1832, 14. The ambush bugs, pp. 503–
510. In Heteroptera or True Bugs of Eastern 
North America, with Especial Reference to 
the Faunas of Indiana and Florida. Nature 
Publishing Company, Indianapolis. 1116 pp.
Evans. J. H. 1931. A preliminary revision of the 
ambush bugs of North America, (Hemiptera, 
Phymatidae). Annals of the Entomological 
Society of America 24: 711–736. doi: 10.1093/
aesa/24.4.711.
Froeschner, R. C. 1988. Family Phymatidae 
Laporte, 1832. The ambush bugs, pp. 598–
604. In T. J. Henry, and R. C. Froeschner 
(eds.), Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True 
Bugs, of Canada and the Continental United 
States. E. J. Brill, New York.  958 pp.
Gray, G. R. 1832. [Untitled. New genera and 
species]. In E. Griffith (ed.), The Animal 
Kingdom arranged in conformity with its 
organization, by the Baron Cuvier, Member 
of the Institue of France, &c. &c. &c. with 
supplementary additions to each order. Whit-
taker, Treacher, and Co., London. 796 pp.
Handlirsch, A. 1897. Monographie der Phy-
matiden. Annalen des Kaiserlich-Königli-
chen Naturhistorischen Hofsmuseums 12: 
127–230, 6 pls.
Figure 1. Phymata vicina vicina, adult male, dorsal habitus. Scale bar = 1 mm.
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 50, No. 1 [2017], Art. 8
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol50/iss1/8
42 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 50, Nos. 1–2
Kormilev, N. A. 1957. Notes on American “Phy-
matidae” (Hemiptera). Revista Brasileira de 
Biologia 17: 123–138.
Kormilev, N. A. 1960. Revision of the Phymati-
nae (Hemiptera, Phymatidae). The Philip-
pine Journal of Science 89: 287–486.
Maw, H. E. L., R. G. Foottit, K. G. A. Hamilton, 
and G. G. E. Scudder. 2000. Checklist of the 
Hemiptera of Canada and Alaska. National 
Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. 220 pp.
McPherson, J. E. 1992. The assassin bugs of 
Michigan (Heteroptera: Reduviidae). The 
Great Lakes Entomologist, 25(1): 25–31.
Schuh, R. T. 2017. Online Species Pages of 
Heteroptera (Insecta). Plant Bug Planetary 
Biodiversity Inventory. Available from http://
research.amnh.org/pbi/species (accessed 31 
January 2017).
Swanson, D. R. 2013. A review of the ambush 
bugs (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) 
of Michigan: identification and additional 
considerations for two common eastern spe-
cies. The Great Lakes Entomologist 46(3–4): 
154–164.
3
Swanson: Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug in Michigan
Published by ValpoScholar, 2017


Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug \u3ci\u3ePhymata vicina vicina\u3c/i\u3e (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in Michigan

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 50 Numbers 1 & 2 -- Spring/Summer 2017 Numbers 1 & 2 -- Spring/Summer 2017 Article 8 September 2017 Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug Phymata vicina vicina (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in Michigan Daniel R. Swanson University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, drswanny@gmail.com Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Swanson, Daniel R. 2017. "Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug Phymata vicina vicina (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 50 (1) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol50/iss1/8 This Scientific Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 40 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 50, Nos. 1–2Thirty-two species of Reduviidae, in 20 genera, were previously known from Michigan (McPherson 1992, Swanson 2013). Of that diversity, the subfamily known as ambush bugs constitutes only a small por-tion. Recently, I provided a synopsis of the two species found in the state (i.e., Swanson 2013), while noting the potential presence of a single additional species, Phymata vicina vicina Handlirsch, 1897. In support of my prediction, a specimen of P. v. vicina was discovered among undetermined material during a visit to the C. A. Triplehorn Insect Collection of The Ohio State University (OSUC). The specimen (Fig. 1) bears the following label data: MICHIGAN: Macomb Co., Richmond, 25 June 1969, Brivio, det. D. R. Swanson 2016, OSUC_651131 [1 male]. The specimen was collected in the south-ern part of the Lower Peninsula, which is unsurprising given the species’ presence in adjacent Midwest states and the collecting bias for this region of Michigan. However, based on other state and provincial records in North America, latitude alone likely does not exclude this species from the northern extremes of Michigan, and it remains to be seen how widely this species is distributed in the state. Its unreported status appears to be attributable to lower abundance than other native ambush bugs, as P. v. vicina is rela-tively easy to distinguish from congeners.This species is known from Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Colorado, Con-necticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C. (Froeschner 1988, Maw et al. 2000). Additionally, records of P. vicina from Cal-ifornia, Missouri, and North Carolina are archived in the Heteroptera Species Pages of the Plant Bug Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (Schuh 2017), although the sub-specific identities of these specimens are potentially confounded with Phymata vicina parvula Kormilev, 1957, known from Texas (Froeschner 1988). Blatchley (1926), Evans (1931), and Kormilev (1957, 1960) each contributed additional information about this species.In Michigan, P. v. vicina is easily distinguished from all other congeners by its small size and distinctly toothed connex-ival margin (Fig. 1). The latter character is similar to that of Phymata fasciata fasciata (Gray 1832), although P. f. fasciata, despite not being limited to the Gulf States, appears to be latitudinally-excluded from Michigan (Swanson, unpublished). My previous key to species (i.e., Swanson 2013) should be amended by inserting the following couplet at the beginning of the key:0  Size small, length 5–6.5 mm; second through fourth connexival segments strongly toothed, fifth and sixth strongly salient [Fig. 1]; scutellum with linear or sublinear carina, lateral branches absent or obsolet ...............Phymata v. vicina0’  Size larger, length usually greater than 7 mm; connexival margin es-sentially smooth, if toothed, then inconspicuously so; scutellum with cruciform carina, lateral branches well-developed ..............................1AcknowledgmentsI thank Luciana Musetti, C. A. Triple-horn Insect Collection, The Ohio State Uni-versity (OSUC) for the loan of material from the collection under her care, and Sam W. Heads (INHS) for his sponsorship regarding the loan. I also owe thanks to two anonymous reviewers for comments on the initial draft of the manuscript.Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug Phymata vicina vicina (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in MichiganDaniel R. SwansonDepartment of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1816 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820-6960(e-mail: drswanny@gmail.com).1Swanson: Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug in MichiganPublished by ValpoScholar, 20172017 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 41Literature CitedBlatchley, W. S. 1926. Family XVII. Phymatidae Laporte, 1832, 14. The ambush bugs, pp. 503–510. In Heteroptera or True Bugs of Eastern North America, with Especial Reference to the Faunas of Indiana and Florida. Nature Publishing Company, Indianapolis. 1116 pp.Evans. J. H. 1931. A preliminary revision of the ambush bugs of North America, (Hemiptera, Phymatidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 24: 711–736. doi: 10.1093/aesa/24.4.711.Froeschner, R. C. 1988. Family Phymatidae Laporte, 1832. The ambush bugs, pp. 598–604. In T. J. Henry, and R. C. Froeschner (eds.), Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs, of Canada and the Continental United States. E. J. Brill, New York.  958 pp.Gray, G. R. 1832. [Untitled. New genera and species]. In E. Griffith (ed.), The Animal Kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization, by the Baron Cuvier, Member of the Institue of France, &c. &c. &c. with supplementary additions to each order. Whit-taker, Treacher, and Co., London. 796 pp.Handlirsch, A. 1897. Monographie der Phy-matiden. Annalen des Kaiserlich-Königli-chen Naturhistorischen Hofsmuseums 12: 127–230, 6 pls.Figure 1. Phymata vicina vicina, adult male, dorsal habitus. Scale bar = 1 mm.2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 50, No. 1 [2017], Art. 8https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol50/iss1/842 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 50, Nos. 1–2Kormilev, N. A. 1957. Notes on American “Phy-matidae” (Hemiptera). Revista Brasileira de Biologia 17: 123–138.Kormilev, N. A. 1960. Revision of the Phymati-nae (Hemiptera, Phymatidae). The Philip-pine Journal of Science 89: 287–486.Maw, H. E. L., R. G. Foottit, K. G. A. Hamilton, and G. G. E. Scudder. 2000. Checklist of the Hemiptera of Canada and Alaska. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. 220 pp.McPherson, J. E. 1992. The assassin bugs of Michigan (Heteroptera: Reduviidae). The Great Lakes Entomologist, 25(1): 25–31.Schuh, R. T. 2017. Online Species Pages of Heteroptera (Insecta). Plant Bug Planetary Biodiversity Inventory. Available from http://research.amnh.org/pbi/species (accessed 31 January 2017).Swanson, D. R. 2013. A review of the ambush bugs (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) of Michigan: identification and additional considerations for two common eastern spe-cies. The Great Lakes Entomologist 46(3–4): 154–164.3Swanson: Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug in MichiganPublished by ValpoScholar, 2017

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Confirmed Presence of the Ambush Bug \u3ci\u3ePhymata vicina vicina\u3c/i\u3e (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Phymatinae) in Michigan

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