Heligmothrips gracilior (Hood)

Mound, Laurence A., Tree, Desley J. & Wells, Alice, 2022, Convoluted maxillary stylets among Australian Thysanoptera Phlaeothripinae associated mainly with Casuarinaceae trees, Zootaxa 5190 (3), pp. 301-332 : 323

Heligmothrips gracilior (Hood)

( Fig. 53 )

Liothrips gracilior Hood, 1918: 136

Teuchothrips albipennis Moulton, 1968: 99 .

This species was described from a single female collected from Casuarina species at Pentland in northern Queensland. The junior synonym, albipennis was described from several specimens, with the holotype female taken from Casuarina at Ivanhoe, New South Wales and paratypes from arid areas in northern South Australia. Judging from the specimens listed below this species seems to be associated particularly with Casuarina species in the arid zone across Australia. It is the only species in the genus with the pronotal major setae long but pale and colourless. As in the other species, males usually have the pronotal anteroangular setae longer than females, but the slender triangles forming the mesopresternum are sometimes narrowly complete medially. As indicated above, it is closely similar to erinaceus in colour and structure, apart from the pale pronotal setae and the maxillary stylets usually arranged into larger convoluted circles posterolaterally ( Fig. 53 ).

Specimens studied. Queensland: Charters Towers 200km north, 1 female from Casuarina , 3.vii.1995 ; Carnarvon Gorge , 1 male from Casuarina, 11.v.2017 ; Bowen , 1 female, 25.iii.1998 ; Dalby, Broadwater Lake , from Casuarina cristata foliage, 1 female, 1 male, 8.iii.2008 , 1 male, 27.ii.2003 . Victoria: Mildura 50km west, 2 males from C. pauper , 25.iv.1995 ; Mildura 30km south, 2 females 1 male from A. luehmanni , 4.xii.2021 . South Australia: Renmark 80km northwest, 5 females 4 males in traps, iii–v.1995 ; Whyalla district , 10 females, 5 males from Casuarina pauper , iii–vi.1997 . Western Australia: from C. obesa: Murchison River Crossing , 6 females 3 males, 25.iv.1997 and 12.x.2003 ; Northampton 60km east, 2 females, 5 males, 25.iv.1997 . Perth, Gingin , 1 male from grasses, 29.ix.1995 .

Figures

FIGURES 51–59. Heligmothrips species heads and stylets. (51) brevidens; (52) erinaceus; (53) gracilior; (54) eiletus; (55) eiletus larva; (56) exallus; (57) macropus; (58) narrabri; (59) xantoskelus.