NEONEIDES MUTICUS (HETEROPTERA, BERYTIDAE) - HOST PLANTS AND SEASONALITY IN MID-APPALACHIAN SHALE BARRENS

The stilt bug Neoneides muticus, a characteristic insect of shale barr ens, was observed on moss phlox, Phlox subulata (Polemoniaceae), in 31 mid-Appalachian shale barrens and outcrops in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Overwintered adults mated and oviposited as early as mid-April, and first-generation adults appeared by late J une. A small second generation was found on moss phlox at only two sit es. Other hosts in shale barrens were a fern, Cheilanthes lanosa (Adia ntaceae); the composite Aster oblongifolius (Asteraceae); a mint, Scut ellaria ovata (Lamiaceae); and a beardtongue, Penstemon canescens (Scr ophulariaceae). The record of N. muticus from moss phlox is the first for a berytid from the Polemoniaceae, and its association with woolly lipfern, C. lanosa, is the second for this stilt bug on a fern species .