Parascolothrips Mound, 1967

Zhang, Shimeng, Mound, Laurence A. & Feng, Jinian, 2019, Sub-family relationships of Bradinothrips Hood and Parascolothrips Mound (Thysanoptera, Thripidae), Zootaxa 4590 (5), pp. 587-593 : 589-590

Parascolothrips Mound

Parascolothrips Mound, 1967: 315 . Type species Parascolothrips priesneri Mound, 1967 , by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Antennae7-segmented, segments III–IV ( Fig. 2 ) with forked sense cones, segment IV with one long extra sense cone. Head wider than long, ocellar setae I absent; ocellar triangle smooth, reticulate only behind eyes; ocellar setae III long and within ocellar triangle; at least one pair of postocular setae longer than others; maxillary palps 2-segmented. Pronotum ( Fig. 6 ) wider than long, sculpture weak or absent, two pairs of long posteroangular setae. Mesonotum ( Fig. 6 ) reticulate, CPS absent. Metanotum ( Fig. 6 ) strongly reticulate, median setae behind anterior margin. Mesosternum and metasternum both with spinula, metasternum furca transverse. Fore wing with costal setae longer than anterior fringe cilia and close to first vein; first and second veins both with complete setal rows; clavus with 2 veinal setae and without discal setae; posterior fringe cilia wavy. Tarsi 1-segmented. Abdominal tergites with broad entire craspedum; microtrichia and ctenidia absent; tergite VIII without posteromarginal comb; tergite IX with only posterior CPS. Sternites also with broad entire craspedum; sternites II– VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae; sternite VII ( Fig. 8 ) with two pairs of extra setae, all posteromarginal setae submarginal. Male sternites III–VII with “C”-shaped pore plate, tergite IX without two pairs of stout setae.

Remarks: Two species are placed in Bradinothrips , B. williamsi and B. musae , both native to the Neotropics. The type species, B. williamsi , is known from Trinidad, Guyana and Costa Rica, and the type species of the synonymic genus from Ecuador and southern Brazil ( Mound & Marullo 1996). However, although nothing is known of the biology of the first species, musae is reported as a minor pest of banana leaves ( Lourenção et al. 1981). There are also specimens of both sexes in the Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra, collected in 1998 from the leaves of Spathiphyllum sp. [ Araceae ] in a greenhouse in Milan, Italy.

Initially, Parascolothrips priesneri , the only known species in that genus, was reported to be a predator of tetranychid mites on apple trees in Iraq ( Mound 1967). However, Ben-David & Mound (2016) deduced that this species is actually phytophagous, and reported it as causing severe feeding damage to the leaves of apple trees in Israel.

These two genera share many morphological characters, but Bradinothrips has an enlarged metasternal furca that is absent in Parascolothrips . This elongate and forked furca ( Fig. 4 ) occurs mainly in species of Dendrothripinae , but also in some Panchaetothripinae genera, as well as in one genus of Thripinae , Trachynotothrips . This structure is probably associated with jumping activity ( Masumoto & Okajima 2005), and its occurrence in relatively unrelated taxa indicates that it is subject to homoplasy. By contrast, a metasternal spinula is present in Parascolothrips , but absent in Bradinothrips . A further difference is that the male in Bradinothrips has two pairs of stout setae on tergite IX, and the sternites with very reduced pore plates, whereas in Parascolothrips the male has no stout setae on tergite IX and the sternal pore plates are well-developed.

Figures

FIGURES 2–9. The paired number on the photos indicates the character states. (2) Parascolothrips priesneri antennal segments II–VII; (3) Bradinothrips musae antennal segments II–VI; (4) Bradinothrips musae meso- and metasternum; (5) Parascolothrips priesneri meso- and metasternum; (6) Parascolothrips priesneri pronotum, meso- and metanotum; (7) Caliothrips tongi head, Character 5 was pointed on ocellar triangle, and character 6 on postocular area; (8) Parascolothrips priesneri sternites VI–VII; (9) Echinothrips americanus tergite V. (10) Dictyothrips betae tergite VI.