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3. M. ithaca in M. mediopunctatum section?

Hi Jason,

In this section, the Midwestern nymphs (#573 & #574) with the dark irregular ventral bars across the anterior portion of the sternites look like Maccaffertium mediopunctatum arwini (the Midwestern ssp.), but the two Eastern duns (#733 & #765) and the associated shuck (of #765) and nymph (#764) look more like Maccaffertium ithaca to me.

Three Maccaffertium species can have very similar ventral markings in the nymph—dark, sinuate, chevron-shaped bars on many of the sternites and dark lateral marks (sometimes connected to form an inverted U-shaped mark) on segment 9. The Eastern mediopunctatum subspecies, M. m. mediopunctatum, has these markings, as does M. ithaca. Similar markings also appear as a less-common variant marking of M. modestum (or the M. modestum species complex). However, these species differ in the length and location of posterolateral projections, leg markings, the appearance of the subs and adults, and size.

Although interpretation of posterolateral projections can be tricky, those projections should help to separate the nymph (and husk) from mediopunctatum. On mediopunctatum, projections are usually on segments 3-9, 4-9, or 5-9, and those on 8 and 9 are fairly long. On ithaca, projections are usually on segments 6-9 or 7-9, and those on 8 and 9 are somewhat shorter (when compared to mediopunctatum). The twin brown bands on the femora of the nymphs should also help to separate them from modestum and mediopunctatum (usually three or four in those species).

The brown posterior margins and median dorsal stripes of the duns (similar to those found in M. vicarium) are typical of ithaca. In McDunnough’s original description of mediopunctatum (1926), he mentions that some of his (paratype) specimens were reared from subimagos, and he describes those subimagos as “quite pale whitish in coloration.”

Size might also be somewhat helpful in distinguishing these specimens from M. m. mediopunctatum (about 7-10 mm at maturity) and modestum (about 8-11 mm at maturity). M. ithaca is about 9-14 mm at maturity. The relatively mature nymph (#764) is at least 11 mm, the female dun (#733) is about 13 mm, and the male dun (#765) is about 11 mm.

When all of these factors are considered, it seems to me that M. ithaca is a more likely ID for the Eastern specimens. (See Bednarik and McCafferty 1979 and Lewis 1974.) I would suggest the following placement for specimens currently in this section:

M. ithaca nymph: http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/764
M. ithaca female dun: http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/733
M. ithaca male dun: http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/765
M. mediopunctatum arwini nymph: http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/573
M. mediopunctatum arwini nymph: http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/574

Best,
Lloyd

Thanks for the detailed rationale, Lloyd! I moved those three to ithaca.

My pleasure, Jason. While on the subject of M. ithaca, I also noticed this male dun in the M. terminatum section that I suspect is probably another example of M. ithaca:

http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/780

Despite its coincidence with good examples of male and female terminatum adults, the overall appearance of this specimen is a good match for ithaca (cf. #733 and #765 above). Although there can be some dark-to-light variation in the subs/adults of the Eastern terminatum subspecies, I don't think they ever have the mid-dorsal stripes. When dorsal markings are apparent in darker terminatum duns, they usually consist of of a narrow band across the posterior margin of the terga or some suggestion of the twin sublateral dashes representative of the "bipunctatum" synonym. The femoral banding of M. terminatum subs/adults usually tends to fade into obsolescence on the rear legs, and they often have pale whitish unmarked (or faintly marked) tails. Although both of the following examples are of pale Western (female) terminatum duns, they show these (leg/tail) tendencies:

http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/886
http://bugguide.net/node/view/685336/bgimage

In addition, the eye separation in the male dun that I am proposing for ithaca (#780) is close to the width of the lateral ocellus while the separation of the male terminatum imago (http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/777) is considerably wider (which is typical of that species). I suspect that the the eye spacing on the dun will probably close slightly upon molting to the imago, but I don't think that space would ever widen.

Thanks for the detailed analysis, Gonzo. VERY helpful for future reference.