Thrips hoddlei, Mound & Masumoto, 2005

Mound, Laurence A. & Masumoto, Masami, 2005, The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand, Zootaxa 1020 (1), pp. 1-64 : 28-29

Thrips hoddlei sp.n.

Diagnosis: Female bicoloured, abdomen brown, head and prothorax yellow with brown markings, pterothorax yellowish­brown, legs mainly yellow; forewing shaded, base and apex paler; antennal segments I–II variable, III mainly yellow, IV–V brown with extreme base yellow, VI–VII brown.

Head slightly broader than long ( Fig. 36 ), vertex with about 6 transverse lines, ocellar region almost without sculpture; ocellar setae III arising on anterior margins of ocellar triangle near first ocellus; postocular setae I nearly twice as long as longitudinal diameter of an ocellus; postocular setae II and IV minute. Antennae 7­segmented. Pronotum with widely spaced transverse lines, with up to 30 discal setae; postero­angular setae well developed; posterior margin with 3 pairs of setae, S1 about 1.5 times as long as S2. Mesonotum with no lines of sculpture near campaniform sensilla. Metanotum with irregular longitudinal reticulate/striate sculpture ( Fig. 37 ); median pair of setae not close to anterior margin; campaniform sensilla not developed. Forewing first vein with about 7 setae on basal half, 3 setae on distal half; second vein with 11 to 12 setae; clavus with 5 marginal setae, terminal seta longest. Abdominal tergite I with irregular sculpture medially, paired campaniform sensilla close to posterior margin; remaining tergites with lines of sculpture weak or absent mesad of campaniform sensilla; tergite II with 4 lateral marginal setae, V– VIII with chaetotaxy and ctenidia typical of Thrips, III –IV with vestigial ctenidia; tergite VIII with posteromarginal comb complete, microtrichia long, slender but slightly irregular; tergite IX with anterior pair of campaniform sensilla not developed, X with short median split. Sternites and pleurotergites without discal setae, sternite II with 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae, 3 pairs of small setae at anterior margin; sternite VII median setae arise well in front of posterior margin.

Measurements of holotype female in microns: Body length 1200. Head, length 75; width 125; ocellar setae III 15. Pronotum, length 120; width 165; postero­angular setae 60. Forewing length 580. Antennal segments III–VII length 45, 42, 33, 50, 15.

Male smaller than female, colour yellow, distal antennal segments pale brown, forewings weakly shaded; tergite VIII with posteromarginal comb complete medially; tergite IX S1and S2 setae arising on a straight transverse line; sternites III–VII each with exceptionally large transverse glandular area.

Type material: Holotype female, Australia, Queensland, Brisbane Airport , from Capsella bursapastoris , 26.xii.2004 (Hoddle & Stosic), in ANIC.

Paratypes: 1♀ 1♂ collected with holotype ; 10♀, Queensland, Mt Tamborine , from Bidens pilosa , 25.iii.1995 (Steiner & Goodwin). Four of the paratypes were mounted into Hoyers Mountant and thus retain their original colour; the other specimens have been macerated and are paler .

Breeding: Both series of specimens were taken from common weeds. This suggests not only that this thrips is likely to be polyphagous but that it is probably not endemic to Australia and is likely to be found in South East Asia.

Distribution: Australia, Queensland.

Relationships: In the key to Oriental Thrips species ( Palmer, 1992) this species tracks to T. formosanus Priesner , but that has dark legs and the metanotal campaniform sensilla are present. Judging from descriptive notes given by Bhatti (1980), T. hoddlei is similar to T. tanicus Bhatti from Tamil Nadu, India, which also has ocellar setae III shorter than postocular setae I. T. tanicus was described originally as T. montanus Ananthakrishnan & Jagadish (1968) and that description indicates that the legs are dark apart from the fore tibiae and tarsi, in contrast to the yellow legs of T. hoddlei . Unfortunately, the original Indian material is not available for study. T. hoddlei is similar to T. palmi , but differs in the closer position of ocellar setae III, the lack of sculptured lines close to the mesonotal campaniform sensilla, the more irregular metanotal sculpture, and the lack of campaniform sensilla on tergite IX.

Figures

FIGURES 26–37. Thrips species. T. extensicornis 26–29: (26) Head & pronotum; (27) Meso­metanota; (28) Tergites VI–VIII; (29) Sternites VI–VII. T. florum 30–32: (30) Meso­metanota; (31) Head; (32) Forewing clavus. T. hawaiiensis 33–35: (33) Meso­metanota; (34) Head; (35) Forewing clavus. T. hoddlei 36–37: (36) Head & pronotum; (37) Meso­metanota.