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Systena - 4 

This is only pale vittate Systena found east of the Mississippi River. The only other eastern vittate species, commonly known as S. elongata Fab., is black with [[strikethrough]] pale [[/strikethrough]] yellowish white median elytral vitta.

Systena blanda is also found west of [[strikethrough]] beyond [[/strikethrough]] west of the Mississippi River. Specimens from Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas do not differ from specimens from New York to Georgia. In the Rocky Mountains, however, the species takes on a darker coloring. For instance, [[strikethrough]] in a series [[/strikethrough]] of 4 specimens from Burley, Idaho, the head in 2 is deep brown, the prothorax in 3 is irregularly darkened, the elytral vittae in all are piceous, and the epipleura, undersurface, and legs tend to be piceous. A similar deepening in coloration is found in specimens from Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas (Bosque Co.). Since other species of Systena closely resembling both the eastern pale form and the darker western form of blanda are found west of the Mississippi River, the only certain method of identifying blanda from those [[strikethrough]] regions [[/strikethrough]] states is by examining the aedeagus.
   Systena blanda belongs to a group represented north of the Mexican border by blanda, blanda subspecies ligata, and mitis. They are rather broadly oblong species, mostly pale, with distinctly punctate and vittate elytra and a less densely punctate prothorax, the lateral edge of both prothorax and elytra usually being dark. The antennae do not extend to the middle of the elytra, the prothorax is scarcely[[strikethrough]] ever [[/strikethrough]] more than a third wider than long, with a basal impression at the sides, and the aedeagus is distinctive in having a lateral notch on each side near the apex. This peculiar notch occurs in one other group of species, to which S. elongata belongs, but the apex of the aedeagus in that group is not acute but broad.
   None of the species of the blanda group exactly [[strikethrough]] s [[/strikethrough]] fit Say's description of A. taeniata. They all differ by having dense elytral punctuation and less dense pronotal punctuation, and all, expect infrequent very dark forms of the

Transcription Notes:
This page is ready for review - **Again, this person transcribing is typing [[strike through]] instead of [[strikethrough]], and forgetting the slash on the second. Had to fix almost every single one. Should be all fixed now.