Mectemycor strangulatus

Mectemycor strangulatus

was observed by the first author on 17 April 2018 in Pinal Co., Arizona in Tonto National Forest   GoogleMaps (33.445351, −111.467754, 800 m elevation), where six specimens were collected from a small, yellow flower (likely Asteraceae ). All   GoogleMaps collected specimens were identified using Majer (1995). The   GoogleMaps species is immediately recognizable by the strong lateral constriction of its pronotum, which is particularly evident in males ( Fig. 1 View FIg , right image). It   GoogleMaps is worth noting that the male genitalia presented here, as well as male genitalia of specimens from California, differ subtly from the illustration of the holotype in Majer (1995), which Majer   GoogleMaps presented as being slightly asymmetrical. We   GoogleMaps believe this minor difference may be due to preparation difficulties related to the age of the illustrated specimen (collected in 1891), or simple variation. Additional collections and dissections are needed to determine whether these differences are diagnostically meaningful. Three specimens are deposited in the University   GoogleMaps of California Riverside Collection (UCRC; Riverside, CA, USA) and three are deposited in the private collection of the first author (KRHC; Matthews, NC, USA).

Although M. strangulatus may not be confined to the seasonality or vegetation described here, it is worth noting that a Bugguide (bugguide.net/node/ view/1645794) image taken on 24 March 2019 (in California) displays Mectemycor linearis (Fall) mating on a yellow flower. Examining flowers in early spring may therefore prove to be a reliable method for encountering members of this uncommon and poorly known family.