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Thelaxes suberi (Del Guercio) was found for the first time in North America. The first collection was on a single potted oak tree in rural Marion County, Florida. Morphological and molecular techniques were used to determine the identity of this adventive species. The find was reported first only as a quarantinable pest, because the prior whereabouts of the potted plant were not known. However, suction trap collections in Polk County in 2020 indicated that the species is established in Florida. It is not known if this species will become numerous on oaks in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mezira subsetosa Josifov and Kerzhner, a mezirine aradid native to the East Palearctic Region, is newly reported from North America. Beginning in 2015, by-catch specimens were extracted from Lindgren funnel trap samples in Maryland as part of a state surveillance program monitoring for the presence of exotic bark and ambrosia beetles and other wood-boring insects. This is the first confirmed record of this aradid in the New World. Subsequent collections from similar pest surveillance trapping in Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia, coupled with verifiable online images of M. subsetosa photographed at various locations in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, support the establishment of this species in the Mid-Atlantic states. A diagnosis, redescription, high-resolution images of the adult male and female, and a revised key to U.S. species of Mezira are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bryocorine mirid Tenthecoris tillandsiae Henry (Hemiptera: Miridae) was described as a new species in 2016. Although the type locality is Charleston, South Carolina, the species is considered adventive in the United States and native to Latin America. Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides [L.] L.; Bromeliaceae) is the plant bug's only known host. Tenthecoris tillandsiae was found in three counties of the greater Charleston area in clumps of Spanish moss that grew on ten species of woody plants, especially Darlington oak (Quercus hemisphaerica W. Bartram ex Willd.; Fagaceae) and live oak (Q. virginiana Mill.). Nymphs and adults fed on strands of the moss, on which they left dark spots of excrement. Overwintered eggs hatched in mid- to late April, with first-generation adults appearing by early May. Two additional generations were produced; nymphs were present into October, and an adult female was found as late as mid-December. Tenthecoris tillandsiae sometimes was syntopic with a native plant bug (Phytocoris tillandsiae Johnston) that specializes on Spanish moss. Pathways of entry that might have allowed T. tillandsiae to enter the southeastern United States from South America (where Spanish moss originated), Central America, or Mexico are discussed. This immigrant mirid is suggested to be a benign addition to the arthropod community associated with Spanish moss, a plant not only symbolic of the South, but also one known to help conserve insect biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nematus spiraeae Zaddach, a European sawfly that feeds on Aruncus diocus (Walter) Fernald (Rosaceae), was discovered in Quebec. This probable introduction is the first report of N. spiraeae in North America and the first record of a sawfly feeding on Aruncus in North America. A diagnosis and some life history notes are given for N. spiraeae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arytainilla spartiophila (Foerster) is native to central and western Europe and a specialist herbivore on Scotch broom ( Cytisus scoparius [L.] Link; Fabaceae). This psyllid has been released for biological control and become established in exotic habitats where Scotch broom is invasive (Australia, New Zealand). Accidentally introduced into North America, it is known in the Pacific Northwest from California, Oregon, and Washington, and in Canada from British Columbia. Virginia has remained the only eastern North American record. Based on fieldwork in 2015 and 2016, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are added to the psyllid's known eastern distribution. Its syntopy with Arytaina genistae (Latreille) at a site in western North Carolina represents the first eastern North American locale where both immigrant Palearctic psyllids of Scotch broom have been found. Adults (mainly males) of this univoltine species appeared in mid-April, numbers declined by mid- to late May when populations became female-biased, and females were present until the first half of June. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diaphania costata (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a leaffolder on Apocynaceae in the Neotropics and the southeastern United States. Adult moths photographed or captured at light in the United States have been commonly misidentified, and the species' Nearctic distribution has been poorly documented. We provide diagnostic characters for larval and adult stages, compare it to related Old World taxa, and describe the damage to ornamental Vinca L. The species is not restricted to Texas but occurs as far east as the Atlantic Coast and as far north as Virginia. Specimens collected in daily surveys over many years indicate that the range of D. costata spread naturally from Louisiana and Texas from the 1980s into the 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New U.S. records are given for two immigrant Old World insects established on mimosa, Albizia julibrissin (Fabaceae), based on collections from 2013 to 2015. The psyllid Acizzia jamatonica is newly reported from Arkansas (11 counties), Louisiana (3 parishes), and Oklahoma (3 counties); the westernmost collection site (95°34′) was in Oklahoma. New state records for the bruchine chrysomelid Bruchidius terrenus are Arkansas (2 counties), Kansas (1 county), Louisiana (3 parishes), Oklahoma (6 counties), and Texas (4 counties); it was taken as far west as 98°00′ in Kansas. Although the foci of introduction for both species are unknown, they might have entered the United States at southeastern ports (coastal, inland, or both) with the shipment of infested mimosa nursery stock from Asia. Following establishment, their spread north and west probably involved natural dispersal and movement of infested host plants (jump dispersal) within the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New North American distribution records of the Palearctic micropezid fly Micropeza lateralisMeigen are given for the Pacific Northwest. In 2007, specimens of M. lateralis were beaten from Scotch broom ( Cytisus scoparius) at two locales in Washington (new U.S. record). Micropeza chillcotti Merritt and Peterson, 1976 is proposed as a junior synonym of M. lateralis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Larinus turbinatus Gyllenhal, a Palearctic weevil that feeds on thistle species of the genera Cirsium and Carduus (Asteraceae: tribe Cardueae), is newly reported for North America. It was first collected by sweep net sampling of flowers of pasture thistle Cirsium pumilum (Nutt.) Spreng. at Fort Indiantown Gap, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in late July 2011 and specimens were hand-collected from field thistle Cirsium discolor (Muhl. exWilld.) Spreng. at Gettysburg National Park, Adams County, Pennsylvania in late August 2012. This is the first published record of this Old World species in the Western Hemisphere. At present, five species of the genus Larinus are known as introduced into North America. These are L. turbinatus Gyllenhal, L. carlinae (Olivier) (known formerly as L. planus), L. curtus Hochhuth, L. obtusus Gyllenhal, and L. minutus Gyllenhal. Brief summaries of their hosts, distributions, biology and a key for their separation are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the research regarding the previously undescribed species called Neuphyllapis varicolor Miller and Halbert sp., which is a modified key species found on Podocarpus spp. or Podocarpaceae and Neophyllaphis in U.S. Topics discussed include the materials and methods used in the research, including the morphological examination of the plant species, DNA analyses, and specimen preservation, DNA sequence data, and the assessment of adventive species of Hemiptera.

The article offers information on Heterogaster urticae found in the Palearctic and Heterogaster behrensii found in the Nearctic Region. The heterogastrids species were collected from stinging nettle in British Columbia's Lower Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island. The physical characteristics and distribution of the Heterogaster urticae are also described.

The article presents a study which provided new records for two Palearctic hemipterans from Oregon and British Columbia, such as the membracid Gargara genistae and tingid Dictyonota fuliginosa, respectively. The study obtained D. fuliginosa and G. genistae from the branches of Scotch broom in the said regions. The study suggests the need to document further spread of both D. fuliginosa and G. genistae.

The article reports on the first record of the insect Athalia cornubiae Benson in the West. The insect can be found in central and southern Europe, Asia Minor and Transcauscasia, exhibiting bright orange color, blue-green larvae and an annulated tarsomere and slightly clubbed antenna in adults. The insect may have been introduced in the U.S. as a contaminant on a merchandise imported from a European country.

The article reports that black flies (Diptera: simuliidae) have colonized only Okinawa and Guam out of four Pacific islands surveyed. It says Simulium aureohirtum Brunette (SAB), a new record for Guam, favors areas disturbed by human activities such as farming, and that its banding patterns of larval polytene chromosomes are the same as those of Okinawa and Thailand, suggesting that the colonizations might be recent. It says Stimulium japonicum Matsumura is among the species found on Okinawa.

The article reports on the Asian buprestid Agrilus subrobustus Saunders, from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It says while the mimosa-linked insect may be seen as a potential landscape tree pest or as a biocontrol agent with the latent ability to help control an intrusive plant, little is known of its habit. It includes photographs and a diagnosis of the adults to make recognition easy, and says the species Agrilus cephalicus LeConte looks like Agrilus subrobustus the most.

The article presents a study on Pseudococcus saccharicola Takahashi collected on Guana Island, nearby Beef Island and Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. The species was first recorded in the Western Hemisphere for its danger to the sugarcane and graminoid crops. This insect feeds on Chloris barbata, swollen fingergrass, and Chloris radiata. The hyperaspidine coccinellid Hyperaspis scutifera was cited as a probable mealybug predator associated with colonies of Pseudococcus saccharicola.

The article presents a study which confirmed the establishment of Euscelis ohausi Wagner, a Paleartic deltocephaline leafhopper, in North America based on collections from localities in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. It provides a diagnosis, distribution, and biology of the leafhopper. The deltocephaline can reportedly be added to Paleartic species which feed on Scotch broom in the Pacific Northwest.

The article presents a study on the South Asian rove beetle Rugilis ceylanensis from North America which was reported based on collections from two Canadian provinces and 14 U.S. states. The beetle represents the fourth Rugilus species recorded in North America. A diagnosis, description, and line drawings of the male genitalia and associated terga and sterna are provided.

The article describes the U.S. distribution records of the East Asian pyyllid Acizzia jamatonica, which was developed mainly on mimosa or silk tree. It discusses the seasonality and habits of the psyllid. A taxomic diagnosis is also described to facilitate its recognition in the Nearctic fauna Several images depicting the morphological structure of adults, eggs, and injury to mimosa leaflets are also presented.