748 FAMILY XXIX. — MIRID.E. 



the tarsi in part fuscous; joints 1 and 2 of antennae shining black, 3 and 

 4 and extreme base of 2 dull yellow to fuscous. Length, 6 — 7 mm. 



St. Joseph, Marion and Vigo counties, Ind., May 10 — June 

 15 ; probably found throughout the State. Occurs mainly on 

 mullein, Verbascum thapsus L., but often swept from other plants 

 in or along the margins of dense woodland. Ranges from 

 Quebec and New England west to Wisconsin and North Dakota ; 

 not recorded south of New Jersey. In some specimens the 

 entire elytra except the costal margin and base of radial vein 

 are black. The form in which the pale color is dull yellow in- 

 stead of red was described by Reuter (1876, 74) as Poccilocap- 

 sus affinis. Say, in his original description, gives the color as 

 "pale rufous or somewhat fulvous," thus including both forms. 

 All of the Indiana specimens at hand with two black spots on 

 base of pronotum are of this paler form and according to 

 Knight's key of color varieties cited below, are Horcias dislocatus 

 affinis (Reut.). Knight (1923, 608) states that the food plants 

 are "false Solomon's seal, Smilacina racemosa Desf., wild cranes- 

 bill, Geranium maculatum L., hare figwort, Scrophularia leporella 

 Bick., and occasionally blue cohosh, Canloph\lhtm thalictroides 

 (L.)." 



As already noted, the color of this Mirid is exceedingly 

 variable. Knight gives a key to 14 varieties, including the 

 typical form as above described. These color varieties have 

 practically the same distribution and occur on the same plants 

 as the typical form. As five of them are quite common and 

 fairly constant in hue, the following modification of his key is 

 given for their separation. 



KEY TO FIVE COLOR VARIETIES OF HORCIAS DISLOCATUS. 



a. Pronotum not wholly black. 

 b. Disk of pronotum red with basal half in part black, but without 

 spots as in typical dislocatus. 769a. goniphorus. 



bb. Pronotum wholly red. 



c. Elytra red or only slightly infuscated; scutellum wholly black, 

 rarely with a pale median line. 769b. coccineus. 



cc. Elytra wholly black. 769c. RESIDUUS. 



an. Pronotum wholly black. 



d. Elytra with costal margin and often the base of radius pale. 



769d. MARGINALIS. 



dd. Elytra wholly black or with only base of radius pale; femora black, 

 tibiae chiefly pale. 769e. nigrita. 



769a (1000b). Horcias dislocatus goniphorus (Say), 1832, 21; I, 341. 

 Pronotum red with yellow collar and a single black spot of variable 



