''Mesopsocus unipunctatus'' is a species of
barklouse found across the
Holarctic. It is a member of the
Mesopsocidae
Mesopsocidae is a family of Psocodea (formerly Psocoptera) belonging to the suborder Psocomorpha
Psocomorpha is a suborder of barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice in the order Psocodea (formerly Psocoptera). There are more than 20 families ...
family. It is a generalist that occurs on branches of deciduous and coniferous trees, as well as lower hedgerows and shaded meadows.
[Description and habitat]
/ref>
Description
This species has one or two noticeable transverse stripes across the abdomen and is often greyish or light. The rest of the body is erratically mottled with dark markings. It is flightless and the antennae are almost twice the body length. The body length ranges from 2.5-3.7mm.
Range
This species occurs frequently in Great Britain and Ireland. It can also be found in Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, Poland, Romania, and Western Europe (except Greece).North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, where it occurs throughout Canada and the United States.
Habitat
The species feed on trees of various kinds including alder, ash, beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
, birch, blackthorn, cedar, elder
An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority.
Elder or elders may refer to:
Positions Administrative
* Elder (administrative title), a position of authority
Cultural
* North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...
, elm, gorse
''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
, hawthorn, hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
, juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
, maple, larch, oak, pine, sea buckthorn, sycamore, and yew
Yew is a common name given to various species of trees.
It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'':
* European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'')
* Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...
. It also likes to feed on apples, bramble, pears, plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
s, and snowberries.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6821603
Mesopsocidae
Insects described in 1764
Psocoptera of Europe
Taxa named by Otto Friedrich Müller