Heliothrips zucchi Monteiro & Mound

Silva, Larinne De Maria Rocha, O’Donnell, Cheryle A. & Lima, Élison Fabrício Bezerra, 2024, Species identity crisis among New World members of the genus Heliothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae: Panchaetothripinae), Zootaxa 5489 (1), pp. 153-172 : 169

Heliothrips zucchi Monteiro & Mound

( Figs 105–111 )

This species remains known only in southern and southeastern Brazil (states of Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, São Paulo) in the Atlantic Forest biome. It is easily recognizable by the dark brown femora ( Figs 105, 106 ), also the robust ventral sense cone on antennal segment IV ( Fig. 107 ). Along with H. haemorrhoidalis , abdominal segment IX is golden. Adults and larvae of H. zucchi have been found in Anadenanthera sp. ( Lima et al. 2020, 2021). The male is briefly described for the first time below, based on two specimens deposited in USNM. These specimens have the abdomen almost completely yellow, but they may not be fully mature.

Male macroptera. Similar to female but smaller ( Fig. 106 ). Body bicolored, head, thorax and abdominal tergite I brown, tergites II–X yellow. Abdominal tergite IX with only one pair of stout thorn-like setae, ( Fig. 110 ). Sternites III–VII each with a circular pore plate mid-anteriorly ( Fig. 111 ).

Measurements (paratype male in microns): Body length 1475. Head, length 640; width across genae 180. Pronotum, length 107.5; width 22.7. Fore wing, length 600. Antennal segments I–VIII length 25, 35, 65, 47.5, 37.5, 35, 25, 75; III simple sense cone length 22.5, IV dorsal sense cone length 65, ventral sense cone length 25. Anterior pair of thorn-like setae on tergite IX length 20. Pore plate on sternite III length 22.5; width 90, on sternite VII length 22.5; width 60.

Material Studied. Brazil. Rio de Janeiro, 9.vi.1934, 2 males and 1 female (D. Mendes) ( USNM) .

Figures

FIGURES 105–111. Heliothrips zucchi. (105) female; (106) male; (107) antenna; (108) head and pronotum; (109) meso- and metanotum and abdominal tergite I; (110) abdominal tergites VIII–X; (111) male abdominal sternites II–VIII.