Help me find psyllids on Snowbell (Styrax sp)

Background. Styrax grows in the the eastern USA and California and until recently was not considered to be a hostplant for psyllids. On May 31 2018 Charley Eiseman submitted to bugguide a psyllid reared from a nymph found on American Snowbell (Styrax americana) which I identified to be Neotriozella pyrifoli. A few days later, Tracy Feldman submitted an observation of psyllid nymphs on the same host plant. The nymphs were found numerously along the dorsal surface of the midrib of the leaves. In May 2021, inat users Chloe and Trevor Van Loon submitted a psyllid from California from California Snowdrop Bush (Styrax redivivus), and I determined the psyllid to be the species Neotriozella sculptoconus. Based on these observations, it would appear that psyllids in the genus Neotriozella (for which host plant associations were previously unknown) are specialists on Styrax*

Observations of Neotriozella are rare, owing in part to the fact that the host plants have been historically unknown. Excluding the Arizona species Neotriozella hirsuta which appears to instead belong to the genus Metatrioza, there are three known species of Neotriozella in the USA, represented by two total observations on iNat. Here's what we know about them so far:

  1. Neotriozella pyrifoli: Distribution: eastern USA, from Louisiana north to Nova Scotia. Host: Styrax americana. Host range: Southeastern USA. It is likely that this species uses a different species of Styrax in the northern parts of its range. Additionally, there are no images of this species on iNat. Can you help fill the gaps?
  2. Neotriozella sculptoconus: Distribution: California. Host: Styrax redivivus. Host range: California endemic. We have only one image of this species on iNat so far. Let's find some more.
  3. Neotriozella laticeps. Distribution: southeastern USA. Host: Unknown. We have a couple images of this species, but the host is unknown. Searching Styrax in the the southeastern USA may uncover new data to help understand this species.

Other potential hosts. Styrax grandifolia in the southeastern USA, Styrax platanifolius in Texas, and Styrax japonicus in the northeastern USA may be potential hosts for either these or (maybe!) undescribed species of Neotriozella. And yes, I am including the Japanese Styrax japonicus because even though it is not native, there are psyllids on this host in Japan...

How to photograph psyllids if you find them. If you are only able to take a single photo, take a lateral shot, but the most important shot for this group of psyllids shows the face. In the genus Neotriozella, the genal cones are closely appressed, unlike many similar species which have divergent genal cones.

We have only two observations of these Styrax psyllids so far, but we know a lot more than we did even just a few years ago. Let's try to find out more about them :)

Posted on June 18, 2022 11:04 AM by psyllidhipster psyllidhipster

Comments

Cool, thanks for the heads up! Looks like this shrub grows in places that I visit regularly, so I'll keep my eyes peeled... :)

Posted by kschnei almost 2 years ago

Wow, fun. Saved for CA searching.

Posted by woodillj almost 2 years ago

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