Scolothrips ochoa Mound, Tree & Goldarazena, 2010 : 64

Mound, Laurence A., 2011, Species recognition in the genus Scolothrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae), predators of leaf-feeding mites, Zootaxa 2797, pp. 45-53 : 50

Scolothrips ochoa Mound, Tree & Goldarazena, 2010: 64

This highly characteristic Australian species with compact antennal segments is presumably host-specific on Raoiella , a genus of mites in the family Tenuipalpidae . It is the only member of Scolothrips known to be a predator of mites that are not members of the Tetranychidae . The metanotal sculpture ( Fig. 1 ) is similar to that of asura , and different from other members of the genus. The pronotal chaetotaxy is variable, because the holotype has a single small seta on the right hand side just in front of the posterior margin; one paratype has a pair of such setae ( Fig. 1 ); the other paratypes have no setae in this position. It is not clear if these setae are homologous with the pronotal discal setae of the sexmaculatus species-group.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Scolothrips species. (1) S. ochoa, pro, meso and metanota. Head and thorax 2 – 3 (arrow indicates position of posteromesad discal setae): (2) S. latipennis; (3) S. sexmaculatus. Antenna 4 – 5: (4) S. ochoa; (5) S. asura. (6) S. brevipilis (in Canada balsam). (7) S. sexmaculatus (in clove oil). (8) S. rhagebianus (in Hoyers mountant).