Heteropsylla texana Crawford, 1914

First detection / collection in HI.

1999 (new state record; see Remarks).

Distribution in HI.

Kaua‘i, O‘ahu.

Material examined.

USA – Hawaiian Islands · 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Kaua‘i, Nohili Dunes, Barking Sands, Pacific Missile Range Facility; 22.0621 ° N, 159.7833 ° W; 24 Mar. 2021; yellow pan traps placed below Prosopis [= Neltuma] pallida; K. Magnacca & J. Preble leg.; coll. 2022-165; HDAB · 2 ♂; O‘ahu, Sand Island; 21.3094 ° N, 57.8871 ° W; 30 Jun. 2022; M. Ramadan leg.; ex Neltuma pallida; coll 2022-176; HDAB.

Host plant in HI.

Neltuma pallida (Fabaceae).

Additional distribution and host plant records.

Widespread in southern continental USA and Mexico; several species of Neltuma (= Prosopis) and also Pithecellobium sp. (Fabaceae) (Muddiman et al. 1992; Percy et al. 2012; Ouvrard 2023).

Remarks.

In 2022, two individuals (1 ♂, 1 ♀) were collected in a yellow pan trap placed beneath Neltuma pallida trees at Barking Sands Beach, Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kaua‘i. Identification was confirmed by Cheryle O’Donnell (USNM). Initially thought to be a new state record until an unpublished HDOA report came to light with a citing of H. texana collected at Ke‘ehi Lagoon, O‘ahu in 1999. The report stated “ Surveys disclose Prosopis [= Neltuma] (kiawe), Pithecellobium (opiuma), Chrysopsis, Tamarix, and Acacia (koa) as hosts. ” However, no voucher specimens could be located to verify this, and it seems that the record was never publicly published. A survey of the Ke‘ehi Lagoon in 2022 confirmed establishment of H. texana on N. pallida. For this reason, we report Heteropsylla texana as a new state record here. Immatures are free-living.

Genetic resources.

GenBank e. g., MG 988760 (COI), MG 989069 (cytB) [California specimen]. A number of other accession numbers for this species can be found on GenBank.