Caliothrips tongi, Mound, Laurence A., Zhang, Hongrui & Bei, Yawei, 2011

Mound, Laurence A., Zhang, Hongrui & Bei, Yawei, 2011, Caliothrips tongi sp. n. (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) from China, and a dubious record of North American Bean Thrips, Zootaxa 2736, pp. 57-62 : 58-61

Caliothrips tongi sp. n.

Female macroptera. Body dark brown ( Fig. 1 ), tarsi yellow, tibiae yellow with variable brown area medially, fore femora yellow distally, antennal segments III–V largely yellow with apices light brown; fore wing dark with two pale areas, sub-basal pale area short, apical dark area shorter than distal pale area ( Fig. 5 ), clavus mainly pale; first vein with one sub-basal and one apical setae dark, second vein with 2 setae dark.

Antennae 8-segmented (Fig. 10); III–IV with strongly constricted apical neck, sensoria forked, on III extending scarcely beyond base of IV, on IV extending to mid-point of V; microtrichia absent on III, VI, and dorsal surface of IV, present on ventral surface of IV and both surfaces of V; VIII much longer than VII. Head wider than long; cheeks convex, constricted to weak basal neck; vertex reticulate with markings inside the reticles, the margins of one row of submarginal reticles forming a transverse ridge ( Fig. 2 ); three pairs of long pale postocular setae.

Pronotum, mesonotum and metanotum reticulate with many markings inside each reticle, setae long and pale; median metanotal setae wide apart and far from anterior margin ( Fig. 3 ). Mesothoracic furca without spinula; metathoracic furca long and lyre-shaped, extending to mesothorax (Fig. 9). Hind coxae each with prominent internal coiled apodeme; tarsi long, 1-segmented. Fore wing first vein with about 5 setae at base, 2 setae near apex; second vein with 5 or 6 setae; posteromarginal cilia strongly wavy; clavus with 4 veinal but no discal setae.

FIGURES 6–10. Caliothrips species. (6) C. tongi , tergites IV–V. (7) C. fasciatus , tergites IV–V. (8) C. tongi , tergites VIII–X. (9) C. tongi , male ventral surface. (10) C. tongi , antenna.

Abdominal tergites I–VIII posterior margin with craspedum medially, forming long teeth laterally; median area of tergites reticulate, with one pair of minute setae, lateral reticulation longitudinal (Fig. 6); IX with no campaniform sensilla; X with median split complete (Fig. 8). Sternites II–VII with 3 pairs of marginal setae anterior to broad craspedum.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 1250. Head, length 85; maximum width 160; pair II postocular setae 30. Pronotum, length 115; maximum width 210. Metanotal median setae length 30. Forewing length 680. Abdominal tergite IV median setae 6; tergite IX 80, median setae 50, lateral setae 90; tergite X 60, terminal setae 50. Antennal segments III–VIII length, 50, 45, 35, 25, 12, 30.

Male macroptera. Colour and sculpture similar to female but smaller and more slender; tergite IX median discal setae shorter and stouter than posterior and midlateral pairs; sternites III–VII with slender transverse pore plate (Fig. 9).

Measurements (paratype male in microns). Body length 1000. Forewing length 550. Tergite IX, setae S1 30; S2 40; S3 30. Pore plate width, sternite IV 75; sternite VII 60.

Material studied. Holotype female: CHINA, Zhejiang Province, Cangnan County (27°31'34.45''N, 120°25'55.75''E), from sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas ) at 753 m, 25.viii.2009 (Bei Yawei), in Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming.

Paratypes: 22 females, 7 males collected with holotype (deposited in Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming; Academy of Sciences, Beijing; South China Agricultural University, Guangdong; Zhejiang Academy of Agriculture Science, Hangzhou; Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra); Fujian Province, Wuyi Mountain (27°38'N, 117°56'E), 1 female from unknown plant, 16.viii.1984 (Zhang Wei-qiu), South China Agricultural University, Guangdong.

Comments. This new species is distinct within the genus Caliothrips because of the transverse ridge across the vertex ( Fig. 2 ), moreover, the median areas of the abdominal tergites are distinctly reticulate (Fig. 6). These two character states readily distinguish the new species from C. fasciatus ( Figs 4 , 7). Moreover, the apical dark area and the sub-basal pale band of the fore wing of C. tongi are both considerably shorter than in C. fasciatus . Using the key to species in Wilson (1975), C. tongi will run to the eastern North American cinctipennis , but that species has the head with uniform reticulation, and the males have small circular sternal pore plates.

The head of Caliothrips species typically has parallel-sided cheeks, and the sculpture on the vertex is uniform in appearance including the posterior margin, unlike C. tongi . However, the following species exhibit an increasing tendency for the cheeks to be convex: sudanensis , insularis , helini. The first of these has the sculptured reticles on the vertex uniform in shape. In contrast, helini not only has the cheeks distinctly convex, but has a weakly differentiated band of reticles near the posterior margin, although this is not as sharply prominent as in tongi .

The only other species of Caliothrips recorded from China is C. indicus , from Yunnan and Guangdong ( Han, 1997). The record of this species also requires confirmation through further field collections, as it is a potential pest of soy beans.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Caliothrips species. (1) C. tongi female. (2) C. tongi, head. (3) C. tongi, mesonotum & metanotum. (4) C. fasciatus, head. (5) C. tongi, fore wing.