Vuilletia Karny, 1923: 288

Dahiya, Nisha, 2014, Systematic relationships of Vuilletia and Senegathrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae) from galls on the West African shrub Guiera senegalensis, Zootaxa 3811 (1), pp. 146-148 : 146

Vuilletia Karny, 1923: 288

Type species Trichothrips houardi Vuillet, 1914: 121

Generic diagnosis. Female macropterous or micropterous, male micropterous; antennae 8-segmented, II with sensorium on basal half of segment, III with 1 very small sensorium, IV with 2 sensoria, VIII strongly constricted to base; head small, stylets close together and retracted to eyes, postocular setae long; pronotum broad, notopleural sutures incomplete, all major setae long, weakly capitate, 2 pairs of epimeral setae often developed; prosternal basantra, spinasternum and mesopresternum absent, ferna large and fused medially; metathoracic sternopleural sutures present; mesonotal lateral setae and metanotal median setae long and capitate ( Fig 3 ); fore femora swollen, fore tarsal tooth absent; fore wing parallel sided, no duplicated cilia, sub-basal setae long, capitate; pelta transverse; female tergites II–VII with median setal pair long and capitate, each with one pair of long curved wing-retaining laterally in macroptera ( Fig. 3 ); male tergite II similar, but III–VII with setae wider apart, variable in length ( Fig. 4 ); female tergite IX with 3 pairs of long weakly capitate setae; male tergite IX with S1 and S2 similar to female, but S3 shorter and stouter; tube longer than head; male sternites without pore plates.

Comments. The only species in this genus is similar in its short, stout body form to some gall thrips of Australia that produce dense colonies in long-lived galls on Casuarina ( Mound et al. 1998) . However, Vuilletia houardi is remarkable because, despite the fore legs and pronotum being greatly enlarged, a fore tarsal tooth is lacking in both sexes. Moreover, the presence of a pair of elongate capitate setae medially on each abdominal tergite of macropterous and micropterous females is unique among Phlaeothripinae , as is the short and stout setal pair S3 on tergite IX of males. Females have a single pair of wing-retaining setae on the tergites, but these setae are long, weakly curved, and arise far more laterally than is usual amongst Phlaeothripidae . The precise chaetotaxy of the thorax and abdomen is variable in both sexes, and sometimes lacks bilateral symmetry. Despite the presence of only two sensoria on the fourth antennal segment, Vuilletia is probably a member of the Liothrips -lineage of leaf-feeding Phlaeothripinae ( Mound & Marullo 1996; Dang et al. 2014).

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Guiera senegalensis galls 1–2: (1) Young gall, (2) mature gall. Vuilletia houardi chaetotaxy differences 3–4: (3) female macroptera, (4) male microptera.