Dendrothrips viticola, Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2016

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2016, Genera of the leaf-feeding Dendrothripinae of the world (Thysanoptera, Thripidae), with new species from Australia and Sulawesi, Indonesia, Zootaxa 4109 (5), pp. 569-582 : 576-577

Dendrothrips viticola sp.n.

Female macroptera: Body and legs white, head dark brown dorsally but white ventro-laterally ( Fig. 15 ), tergites III–VII with 2 pairs of small dark spots laterally, VIII with a single pair; antennal segments I–IV white, V–VIII dark brown; fore wing light brown with 3 pale areas that do not extend to the posterior margin, sub-basally, medially and apically (but with extreme apex weakly shaded), clavus dark on distal half.

Head reticulate with tuberculate areas posterior to compound eyes ( Fig. 15 ); ocellar setae III minute, on anterolateral margins of triangle. Antennae 8-segmented, sense cone on VI arising on distal half of segment and scarcely reaching antennal apex. Pronotum transversely reticulate, all setae minute. Metanotum with elongate reticulation. Tergites II–VIII with longitudinal reticulation ( Fig. 14 ), setae S1 and S2 elongate, but remaining setae minute; VIII with posteromarginal comb weak, IX without discal microtrichia on posterior half.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 950. Head, length 70?; width across eyes 120? Pronotum, length 80; width 130? Fore wing length 630. Antennal segments III–VIII length 25, 25, 25, 20, 7, 10.

Male macroptera: Smaller and paler than female, head mainly white, tergites without dark spots; fore wing pale bands extend to posterior margin of wing.

Material studied. Holotype female, Australia, Northern Territory, Jabiru, Little Burdulba Creek, from Vitex acuminata , 22.xii.1996 (LAM3079), in ANIC.

Paratype: One male taken with holotype.

Comments. The holotype is badly damaged, with the head and pronotum rotated (thus some of the measurements are not precise), but the colour and sculpture of this female are unique in the genus. The only described Dendrothrips species that is at all similar is vitex ; this was described from Vitex zeyheri at Pretoria, South Africa, but has also been seen from Selangor, Malaysia, on Vitex negundo . That species has similar tergal sculpture to viticola , but the head, fore wings and clavus are without any brown markings.

Edissa Faure : The two species placed in this genus apparently breed only on species of Poaceae and Cyperaceae . One has been collected in South Africa and Sudan, but the other from several sites in north eastern Australia between Cairns and the Torres Strait islands, and also in southern Japan and Thailand ( Mound 1999).

Ensiferothrips Bianchi : Based originally on a single species, primus , from New Caledonia, this species is widespread in eastern Australia, and secundus was described subsequently from Lord Howe Island. Both of these are associated with the leaves of species of trees and shrubs in the family Moraceae . Two further species are described below, one from Australia but the other from much further north, in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The genus has previously been recognized from the large, expanded, grooved and dark setae on the head, pronotum and fore wings, although this character state occurs only in females with the setae of males being much more slender. At first sight, the females of the new Australian species described below are markedly different from the females of the other three available members of the genus, because they have slender major setae. However, the similarity of these setae to those of the known males of the other species precludes considering this Australian species as representing yet another genus. Ensiferothrips is thus considered to comprise those Dendrothripinae that have the following character states: ocellar setae pair III elongate; maxillary palps 2-segmented; antennae 9-segmented; pronotal posteromarginal setae pairs III and IV elongate; fore wing apex with a long seta.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 19. Dendrothripinae. 9 – 12 Dendrothrips notelaea: (9) head and pronotum; (10) meso and metanotum; (11) antenna; (12) tergites III – VII. 13 – 15 Dendrothrips viticola: (13) antenna; (14) tergites III – VI; (15) head and pronotum. 16 – 19 Dendrothrips victoriae: (16) antenna; (17) tergites III – V; (18) head and pronotum; (19) meso and metanotum.