Hoplandrothrips hemiflavus, Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2013

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2013, Fungus-feeding thrips from Australia in the worldwide genus Hoplandrothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae), Zootaxa 3700 (3), pp. 476-494 : 485-486

Hoplandrothrips hemiflavus sp.n.

( Figs 15, 16 )

Male macroptera. Body bicoloured; pronotum yellow; pterothorax, abdominal segments I and VIII–X brown, also anterolateral margins of head and antennal segments I–II and VI–VIII; abdominal tergites II–V yellow with brown area medially, VI–VII yellowish brown; antennal segments III–V yellow at base; mid and hind legs brown; fore wings and all major setae pale.

Head broadly convex behind large eyes, median dorsal area with no sculpture; postocular setae far apart; maxillary stylets retracted to compound eyes, close together medially ( Fig. 15 ). Antennae 8-segmented; sub-basal area of segment III slightly swollen and ridged, III with only 2 sensoria, IV with 4 sensoria; VIII narrowed to pedicellate base.

Pronotum without sculpture; am and ml setae minute, remaining 3 pairs capitate; basantra absent, but chitinous islets large; mesopresternum of two slender lateral triangles. Fore femora moderately swollen, without sub-apical tubercles; fore tarsal tooth slender. Mesonotal lateral setae small. Metanotum medially with very faint reticulation ( Fig. 16 ); median setae acute, arising on posterior half of sclerite; 2–3 pairs of minor discal setae on anterior half of sclerite. Fore wings parallel sided (or very weakly constricted medially), sub-basal setae S3 small and acute; 12 duplicated cilia.

Pelta almost rectangular; tergites II–VII with 2 pairs of wing retaining setae, also 1–3 setae laterally and 2–3 pairs of small setae medially; tergal lateral setae S1 with asymmetric spatulate apex, S2 elongate and capitate.

Sternites III–VII with median three pairs of discal setae arising close to antecostal ridge; sternite VIII with circular pore plate scarcely 20 microns in diameter.

Measurements (holotype male in microns). Body length 2000. Head, length 225; width 185; po setae 50. Pronotal setae length: am 10, aa 50, ml 10, epim 50, pa 65. Fore wing length 850. Tergite IX setae: S1 55; intermediate seta 20; S2 45; S3 90. Tube length 125. Antennal segments III–VIII length 75, 65, 65, 50, 40, 35.

Specimens examined. Holotype male, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Black Mt., under Eucalyptus bark, 25.v.1961 (E.M.Reed).

Comments. This species is known from a single male. The chaetotaxy of the abdominal tergites and sternites are unusual within this genus. The pronotal am setae are also minute in howei , but only in hemiflavus are the ml setae minute. The presence of only two sensoria on antennal segment III is also unusual, but that is shared with H. coloratus Okajima from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, a species with a brown pronotum and yellow pterothorax.

Figures

FIGURES 15 – 21. Hoplandrothrips from Australia. hemiflavus sp. n. 15 – 16: (15) head & pronotum; (16) Meso & metanotum, pelta & tergite II. hylaius sp. n. 17 – 21: (17) holotype head; (18) small male head & pronotum; (19) holotype meso & metanotum and pelta; (20) holotype pronotum; (21) male sternite V.