Teratocoris saundersi Douglas & Scott, 1869

Wheeler, Alfred G. & Skaftason, Johannes F., 2010, Notes on the feeding behavior of Teratocoris saundersi (Hemiptera: Miridae) in Iceland: phytophagy, zoophagy, and adventitious biting, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 50 (1), pp. 45-52 : 46-47

Teratocoris saundersi Douglas & Scott, 1869

Taxonomy. Teratocoris , a Northern Hemisphere genus, comprises 10 species: four Holarctic, including T. saundersi ; four Palaearctic; and two Nearctic ( SCHWARTZ 2008). Described from Great Britain by DOUGLAS & SCOTT (1869), T. saundersi is a pale green or yellowish-green stenodemine mirid, with a median, longitudinal line on the head and pronotum; the collar and scutellum often are black. Adults vary in color, overall size (J: 4.2–5.6 mm; ♀: 5.2– 6.4 mm), and length of the antennae and legs. Females typically are brachypterous ( BUTLER 1923; KULLENBERG 1944; WAGNER & WEBER 1964; KELTON 1966, 1980; WOODROFFE 1967). According to FRISTRUP (1945), all females are brachypterous in Iceland, whereas males vary in wing length; LINDROTH et al. (1973) stated that most specimens in Iceland are brachypterous. SCHWARTZ (2008) referred to wing dimorphism in this plant bug as submacropterous rather than brachypterous. Examination of the male and female genitalia is needed to confirm identifications based on antennal, pronotal, and other characters. The left margin of the male genital capsule bears a slender, angular process; the fifth abdominal segment of the female bears a small median process ( KELTON 1966, 1980).

Names considered junior synonyms of T. saundersi are T.flori J. Sahlberg, 1873 , described from Russia; T. herbaticus Uhler, 1887 , described from Labrador, Canada; and T. lineatus Wagner, 1952 , described from Germany, Holland, Russia, and Sweden (SCHUH 1995, 2009; KERZHNER & JOSIFOV 1999).

Distribution. Teratocoris saundersi has been termed an ‘arctic-alpine’ ( SOUTHWOOD 1957) or ‘circumarctoboreal’ ( VINOKUROV 1988) plant bug. In North America, it is known from Canada (British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon Territory) ( KELTON 1966, MAW et al. 2000) and the northern United States (Alaska, Colorado, and Wyoming ( WHEELER & HENRY 1992). The extensive European range includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia (Central European & Northern Territory), and Sweden. In Asia, T. saundersi is known from China (Northern Territory) and Russia (East & West Siberia and Far East) ( KERZHNER & JOSIFOV 1999).

Overview of bionomics. Host plants in Canada are Carex and Scirpus spp. (Cyperaceae) and ‘grasses’ ( SCUDDER 1997), including Calamagrostis sp. (Poaceae) ( KELTON 1966). Typical Eurasian habitats are bogs, marshes, and other wetlands, as well as meadows and steppe slopes ( KULLENBERG 1944, SOUTHWOOD & LESTON 1959, VINOKUROV 1988). This univoltine plant bug overwinters in the egg stage. Larvae feed mainly on the vegetative and reproductive structures of various graminoids: grasses, rushes ( Juncaceae ), and sedges ( KULLENBERG 1944, SOUTHWOOD & LESTON 1959). Among numerous hosts in Sweden, the rush Juncus gerardii Loisel , the sedges Scirpus spp. , and the grass Puccinellia maritima (Hudson) Wahlenberg (as Glyceria distans maritima ) are especially important. Its host range in Sweden is broader than that of T. antennatus (Boheman, 1852) , which often co-occurs with T. saundersi ( KULLENBERG 1944) . In Britain, T. saundersi uses the same three hosts considered primary in Sweden, in addition to the sedges Eleocharis sp. and Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (K. C. Gmelin) Palla and the grass Phragmites australis (Cavanilles) Trinius ex Steudel ( SOUTHWOOD & LESTON 1959) . Teratocoris saundersi is mainly phytophagous but occasionally feeds on aphids, adults and pupae of small Diptera , and pupae of Hymenoptera. In Sweden, its tendency toward zoophagy appears to be less than that of T. antennatus . Mating begins in Sweden by late June to early July and continues until mid-July, with adults present until mid-August ( KULLENBERG 1944). In the British Isles, adults are found from mid- to late July until October ( SOUTHWOOD & LESTON 1959). Adults in parts of northern Asia (Yukutia in the Russian Far East) appear by early July ( STEPANOV 2008).

FRISTRUP (1945) noted that this plant bug’s range in Iceland is limited to areas dominated by grasses and sedges. The bug is regarded as a halobiont in Sweden ( KULLENBERG 1944), but in Iceland it is not restricted to coastal areas ( FRISTRUP 1945, LINDROTH et al. 1973). Larvae in Iceland are found in early summer, with adults first appearing in June ( FRISTRUP 1945).