Dendrothrips latimaculatus Nonaka & Okajima, 1991

Wang, Zhaohong, Mound, Laurence A. & Tong, Xiaoli, 2019, Character state variation within Dendrothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) with a revision of the species from China, Zootaxa 4590 (2), pp. 231-248 : 235-236

Dendrothrips latimaculatus Nonaka & Okajima

( Figs 1 , 20 , 24, 27–28 , 39 , 42–43 , 52–56)

Dendrothrips latimaculatus Nonaka & Okajima, 1991: 107 .

Dendrothrips mendax ; sensu Zhang, 1982: 53, not Bhatti, 1971.

This species has been found in South China specifically on the leaves of Osmanthus fragrans [ Oleaceae ]. This is a common ornamental plant, and is also an important spice crop. In Japan, the thrips was recorded on Fraxinus griffithii from Okinawa-ken, and this suggests it is associated with Oleaceae in Asian tropical areas. In Guangzhou, males of latimaculatus occur only during October, before the flowering of these plants. It clearly breeds on leaves, because after removing all adults and larvae from leaves further larvae were found to emerge on the same leaves. The record from China of mendax Bhatti was based on female specimens collected from the leaves of O. fragrans ( Zhang 1982) . Direct comparison of those specimens with latimaculatus makes it clear that these were misidentification of mendax . A further species to be considered, cibarius , was described from 110 females from leaves of one unidentified tree in Bombay, India ( Ananthakrishnan 1965). According to the original illustrations, cibarius and latimaculatus share similar fore wing color, as well as sculpture on the head, pronotum and tergite VIII. Osmanthus fragrans is widely planted as an ornamental and spice crop, and there is a possibility that cibarius may be the same species as latimaculatus .

Female: Body brown, head and thorax darker than abdomen, tergites IV–VI paler laterally with 2 pairs of brown spots (Figs 52, 54); antennal segments I–II and VI–VIII brown, V pale brown, III–IV yellow ( Figs 42 ); fore wing colour patterns complex ( Fig. 27 ), basal fourth pale with brown spots, sub-basal fourth brown but slightly pale medially, apical half with two white and two brown areas alternating, apex brown; clavus brown at basal half. Head and pronotum reticulate with internal dots ( Fig. 1 ). Mesonotum with transverse anastomosing striae; metanotum medially sculptured with irregular reticles bearing internal dots, lateral reticles bearing winkles ( Fig. 24 ). Fore wing without uniform microtrichia, vein setae small, first vein with 15–17 setae distributed discontinuous, second vein with 3–5 setae placed on brown areas. Abdominal tergites II–III and VII–VIII reticulate with numerous dots, IV–VI anterior 1/3 with transverse anastomosing striae bearing few dots, posterior 2/3 with dots on brown areas, different tubercles on yellow areas ( Fig. 20 ); sternites reticulate with many longitudinal linear ridges, segments VII with 3 pairs of marginal setae in front of posterior margin.

Male: Paler and smaller than female (Fig. 53). Head, thorax and abdominal tergites II–IV & VII lateral third brown, tergites V–VI and VIII–X pale yellow. Antennal segments II–III pale, I & IV pale brown, V–VIII brown ( Fig. 43 ). Legs pale brown with tarsi yellow. Fore wing pale at basal quarter, medially and sub-apically ( Fig. 28 ), hind vein with 2 setae on distal half. Abdominal tergites II–IV & VII sculptured with reticles bearing inner dots, tergites V–VI with tubercles ( Fig. 39 ).

Larva. The first instar larvae completely pale; second instar pale but posterior half of mesonotum and anterior half of metanotum, abdominal tergites I–III and VII–VIII with bright red areas (Fig. 56).

Material examined. Paratype female of latimaculatus , JAPAN (in ANIC), Okinawa-ken, Ishigaki-jima Island, collected from leaves of Ficus erectus [ Moraceae ], 11.i.1991 (S. Okajima). CHINA (in SCAU), Guangdong, Guangzhou , SCAU (23°09'N, 113°21'E), 2 females collected from Osmanthus fragrans [ Oleaceae ], 27.xii.2012 (Shulan Yang); 12 females, 24.ix.2015, 17 females, 30.ix.2015, 29 females and many larvae, 12.xii.2015, 8 females and many larvae, 26.ii.2016, 25 females, 3.iii.2016, 59 females, 25.iii.2016, 9 females on 2.iv.2016, 56 females, 12.v.2016, 44 females and many larvae, 21.vi.2016, 5 females and 5 males, 10.x.2016, all collected by Zhaohong Wang from O. fragrans .

Distribution: China (Jiangxi, Guangdong, Taiwan), Japan (Okinawa-ken).

Host plants: Osmanthus fragrans , Fraxinus griffithii [ Oleaceae ].

Figures

FIGURES 1–11. Dendrothrips. Head and pronotum 1–5: (1) latimaculatus; (2) diaspora; (3) ornatus; (4) minowai; (5) homalii. Head and thorax of magnoliae 6–7: (6) female; (7) male. (8) Head of octosparsus sp. n. Pronotum 9–11: (9) jeanneli; (10) octosparsus sp. n.; (11) stannardi.

FIGURES 12–23. Dendrothrips. Fore wing 12–16: (12) homalii; (13) minowai; (14) stannardi; (15) howeii; (16) stannardi. Tergites 17–23: (17) homalii III–VI; (18) sexmaculatus III–VI; (19) virgulatus III–VI; (20) latimaculatus IV–VII; (21) howeii III–V; (22) ornatus IV–VI; (23) octosparsus sp. n. IV–VII.

FIGURES 24–31. Dendrothrips. Meso- and metanotum 24–26: (24) latimaculatus; (25) ornatus; (26) octosparsus sp. n. Forewing 27–31: (27) latimaculatus female; (28) latimaculatus male; (29) magnoliae female; (30) magnoliae male; (31) ornatus.

FIGURES 38–40. Male tergites: (38) homalii III–IX; (39) latimaculatus IV–IX. (40) octosparsus sp. n. IV–VIII.

FIGURES 41–49. Antenna: (41) homalii male; (42) latimaculatus female; (43) latimaculatus male; (44) minowai; (45) magnoliae female; (46) magnoliae male; (47) octosparsus sp. n. female; (48) octosparsus sp. n. male; (49) stannardi.