Plant bugs (Heteroptera: Miridae) of Phlox subulata and other narrow-leaved phloxes in eastern United States

Phlox subulata L. (Polemoniaceae) is a prostrate, suffruticose perennial characteristic of shale and serpentine barrens of the eastern United States. It serves as a host of various little-known insect species. The mirid fauna of this plant was inventoried during
1989-1994, mainly in shale barrens of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, but also in outcrops of shale and other types of bedrock, and in eastern serpentine barrens. Four plant bug species were consistently collected in shale barrens: the bivoltine generalists Lopidea heidemanni Knight and L. minor Knight and the univoltine specialists Polymerus tinctipes Knight and P. wheeleri Henry; previously, the two monophagous species of Polymerus had been known only from their type localities in Maryland and West Virginia, respectively. Information on distribution, seasonal history, and habits is presented for all four species, as well as their use of the only other eastern narrow-leaved phloxes of prostrate growth habit, P. bifida and P. nivalis. Lopidea minor, P. tinctipes, and P. wheeleri are as characteristic of shale barrens as are the endemic plant species; these specialized communities and their associated biota are deserving of protection from habitat degradation.