Carientothrips mjobergi (Karny, 1920: 42)

Eow, Li-Xin, 2014, Australian species of spore-feeding Thysanoptera in the genera Carientothrips and Nesothrips (Thysanoptera: Idolothripinae), Zootaxa 3821 (2), pp. 193-221 : 207

Carientothrips mjobergi (Karny, 1920: 42)

( Figs 1 , 33 )

Described from eastern Queensland, this species is widespread in dry sclerophyll Eucalyptus forest from Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and also Tasmania, northward throughout eastern Australia to Cairns in Queensland. A few specimens have also been seen from the southwest of Western Australia. This species was interpreted by Mound (1974 a) as having the eyes either prolonged or not prolonged ventrally, but this assumption is rejected here. The eyes of mjobergi are here considered to have a single ommatidium displaced to the posterior on the ventral surface. The body and legs are uniformly dark brown, with tarsi yellowish and fore tibiae lighter brown. In contrast, the tibiae of flavitibia and tasmanica are much paler. Females of mjobergi are usually macropterous, but in both sexes the fore wing length of flightless individuals is variable from micropterous to hemimicropterous. Similar variation in wing reduction is noted above in alienatus . The shape of the pelta varies, the median lobe being wider in major males, both micropterae and macropterae.

Diagnosis. Body uniformly brown, tarsi and fore tibia brownish-yellow, antennal segment I–II brown, III–V yellow with gradually stronger shade of brown apices, VI brown but sometimes the short pedicel yellow, VII–VIII brown, tube dark brown with paler tip; wings slightly brownish. Head slightly longer than wide, slightly projecting in front of eyes ( Fig. 1 ); eyes with one ommatidium displaced to posterior on ventral surface; postocellar setae small and acute, arising posterior to hind ocelli; postocular setae long and slightly blunt; maxillary stylets parallel about half of head width apart, retracted to postocular setae; maxillary palp segment I twice as long as wide, segment II slightly longer than I; pronotal am small slender and acute; aa, ml, epim, pa blunt to weakly capitate; notopleural sutures complete; pelta median lobe elongate, very narrowly connected to lateral wings ( Fig. 33 ); tergite IX setae S1 blunt 0.8 as long as tube, S2 and S3 about as long as tube; tube shorter than head. Male smaller than female, particularly macropterous male; fore tarsus with stout tooth.

Figures

FIGURES 1–9. Carientothrips species. Head: (1) mjobergi, (2) flavitibia, (3) tasmanica, (4) alienatus major male, (5) loisthus macropterae. Ventral eye surface: (6) alienatus, (7) miskoi, (8) flavitibia, (9) tasmanica.

FIGURES 31–36. Carientothrips species. Metathorax and pelta: (31) calami, (32) tasmanica, (33) mjobergi, (34) snowi. Pelta: (35) flavitibia. Thoracic sternites: (36) alienatus.