Mesopsocus unipunctatus

Mesopsocus unipunctatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Psocodea
Family:	Mesopsocidae
Genus:	Mesopsocus
Species:	M. unipunctatus
Binomial name
Mesopsocus unipunctatus (Mueller, 1764)

Mesopsocus unipunctatus is a species of barklouse found across the Holarctic. It is a member of the Mesopsocidae family. It is a generalist that occurs on branches of deciduous and coniferous trees, as well as lower hedgerows and shaded meadows.¹

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.²

This species occurs frequently in Great Britain and Ireland. It can also be found in Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Western Europe (except Greece).³

Some populations also exist in North America, where it occurs throughout Canada and the United States.

The species feed on trees of various kinds including alder, ash, beech, birch, blackthorn, cedar, elder, elm, gorse, hawthorn, hazel, juniper, maple, larch, oak, pine, sea buckthorn, sycamore, and yew. It also likes to feed on apples, bramble, pears, plums, and snowberries.¹