Falconia poetica Distant1: First Host Record, New Distribution in Mexico, and Determination of Nymphal Instars

Little information is available about the distribution and biology of Falconia poetica Distant, 1884 (Hemiptera: Miridae). A new distribution and the number of nymphal instars of the species are reported. On September 2018, nymphs and adults of an unknown species in the family Miridae were collected on castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) at Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. The specimens were identified as F. poetica. Using lengths of the forefemora and foretibiae and Discriminant Analysis, F. poetica was determined to have five nymphal instars. The study is the second record of F. poetica in Mexico and the first to report the mirid feeding on castor bean.