Azaleothrips amabilis Ananthakrishnan

Okajima, Shûji & Masumoto, Masami, 2014, Species-richness in the Oriental fungus-feeding thrips of the genus Azaleothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae), Zootaxa 3846 (3), pp. 301-347 : 307

Azaleothrips amabilis Ananthakrishnan

Azaleothrips amabilis Ananthakrishnan, 1964: 221 .

Diagnosis. Body brown; antennal segment III yellow, IV brown at middle, yellowish at base and apex; fore coxae brown, fore femora yellow. Head a little longer than wide, distinctly reticulate; antennal segment VIII distinct from VII, segments III and IV with three (1 + 2) and four (2 + 2) sensoria, respectively. Pronotum distinctly reticulate; basantra absent; fore tarsus with a tooth in both sexes; mesonotum with dentate microtrichia along transverse lines of reticulation; metanotum longitudinally reticulate or striate. Male pore plate on abdominal sternite VIII narrow; S1 setae on tergite IX a little longer than half the length of tube; S2 setae on tergite IX expanded in female, pointed in male; tube about 0.6 times as long as head in female; anal setae longer than tube.

This species was described from four females and one male collected in Madras, India. Although, the present authors did not examine type specimens, three females and two males identified as this species by Prof. Ananthakrishnan are available in the collection of TUA. This species belongs to a group with antennal segments III and IV having three and four sensoria, respectively. The coloration of antennal segment IV of this species is unique within the genus. This coloration is somewhat similar to that of atayal , newly described below from Taiwan, but that species has darker antennal segment III and fore femora.