Phoradendron
Guides
Agrilus andersoni
Agrilus andersoni is a small jewel beetle described from Mexico in 2008. The species is notable for its specialized association with mistletoe in the genus Phoradendron (family Viscaceae), an unusual host relationship within the enormous genus Agrilus. Adults exhibit purplish-red coloration with complex patterns of golden setae on the elytra, which may function as disruptive coloration against the host foliage. The species is known from Guerrero and Puebla states.
Atlides
Great Purple Hairstreak (for A. halesus)
Atlides is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies in the family Lycaenidae, subfamily Theclinae, tribe Eumaeini. The genus contains approximately 18 named species plus 5 or more undescribed species distributed across the Americas from the southern United States to Argentina. The most well-known species, Atlides halesus (great purple hairstreak), is notable for its iridescent blue coloration—despite its common name containing "purple"—and its exclusive larval association with mistletoe species (Phoradendron). Males of at least some species possess androconial scales producing distinctive volatile compounds; A. polybe males emit a grape-like aroma from methyl anthranilate, the first such compound reported in Papilionoidea.
Boloria andersoni
Agrilus andersoni is a jewel beetle species in the family Buprestidae, described by Henry Hespenheide in 2008 from specimens collected in Guerrero and Puebla, Mexico. It is one of two new species associated with mistletoe plants in the genus Phoradendron, representing an unusual host relationship within the enormous genus Agrilus. The species is closely related to A. turnbowi from Texas and A. howdenorum from Oaxaca, sharing distinctive purplish-red coloration and complex golden setal patterns on the elytra.
Cionomimus insolens
Mistletoe Weevil
Cionomimus insolens is a species of true weevil in the beetle family Curculionidae. It has been recorded in association with mistletoe, Phoradendron densum, in Mexico, and is known from North America more broadly. The species was originally described by Dietz in 1891 under the genus Cionistes.