Thrips hanifahi, Mound & Azidah, 2009

Mound, Laurence A. & Nickle, David A., 2009, Species of the genus Thrips (Thysanoptera) from Peninsular Malaysia, with a checklist of recorded Thripidae, Zootaxa 2023, pp. 55-68 : 64-66

Thrips hanifahi sp.n.

Female macroptera. Body, legs and antennae yellow, tergites III–VIII with a pale brown area medially, X light brown at apex; antennal segment IV light brown in apical third, V light brown at apex, VI light brown in apical half; forewings pale; major setae on abdomen slightly shaded. Head wider than long; ocellar setae III small, anterolateral to ocellar triangle; vertex and ocellar region with transverse lines ( Fig. 19 ). Antennae 7- segmented. Pronotum midline with about 28 transverse faint striae; posteromarginal, posteroangular and discal setae all small ( Fig. 21 ). Mesonotum with transverse striae, anteromedian campaniform sensilla present. Metanotum reticulate, median setae far from anterior margin, campaniform sensilla present ( Fig. 5 ). Forewing first vein with 7 setae on basal half, 3 setae on distal half; second vein with 11 setae; clavus terminal seta longer than subterminal seta. Abdominal tergites I–IV with one or more transverse sculpture lines medially, V–VII with lines extending to median pair of setae; tergite VIII posterior margin concave medially ( Fig. 24 ), comb teeth long with relatively broad bases; IX with 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla; median split on X extending almost full length of tergite. Pleurotergites without discal setae; sternites III–VII with about 15 discal setae (Fig, 28), II with about 3 discal setae; sternites III–VII with 6 posteromarginal setae; ovipositor long, extending beyond abdominal apex.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 1250. Head, length 70; width 140; ocellar setae III length 10. Pronotum, length 130; width 175; posteromarginal setae 10. Forewing, length 620; distal setae on first vein length 15–20.

Type material: Holotype female, Peninsular Malaysia, Selangor, Serdang , MARDI, from flower of Melaleuca leucadendron , 6.iii.2008 (Hanifah), in the Natural History Museum, London.

Paratypes, 4 females collected with holotype ; 6 females, same plant, locality and collector, 13.vi.2008; 1 female from Averrhoa carambola flowers, University of Malaya , 5.iii.2008; paratypes in Zoological Museum , University of Malaya , Australian National Insect Collection , Natural History Museum , London , and Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt ..

Comments: As indicated in the key above, this is one of the few species of genus Thrips that lack two pairs of elongate setae on the pronotum. There are now seven such species described. Two of these have a single pair of elongate pronotal posteroangular setae, T. unispinus , also T. antiaropsidis Zerega et al. from New Guinea. Three species have a single pair of such setae that are only about 15 microns long, T. brevisetosus Trybom from Africa, and two oriental species, T. subnudula (Karny) and T. mirus , and two species have no pronotal posteroangular setae longer than the discal setae. Of these two, T. hanifahi differs from T. aspinus in having only six marginal setae on the sternites, and in lacking discal setae on the pleurotergites. Anaphothrips cuthbertsoni Moulton , based on a single female from Zambia, is considered a synonym of T. brevisetosus from Kenya ( Bhatti, 1978), and this single female is very similar in sculpture and chaetotaxy to T. hanifahi apart from the darker body colour and difference in length of the pronotal posteroangular setae. The recorded host plant, Melaleuca leucadendron , is considered to be a complex of species distributed from northern Australia to Malaysia.

Thrips hawaiiensis Morgan. This is the most common flower living thrips of much of Asia, and is now widespread throughout much of the tropics ( Palmer, 1992). It is discussed above under T. florum .

Thrips javanicus Priesner. The identity of this species is not entirely clear. The name is currently restricted to females that have at least 12 setae on the basal half of the first vein of the forewing, followed by a distinct interval then two setae near the wing apex. The associated males are yellow, whereas in T. morindae the males are brown. T. javanicus was described from an orchid in Java, and only one female has been seen from Malaysia, collected at Terengganu in March 1974 (Mound, 2005).

Thrips leeuwenii Priesner. Described on a few females from Singapore, one female and one male of this species were taken from mango flowers at Serdang, Selangor in April 2008. The female is large and brown, but the male is smaller and yellow. The metanotal median setae arise at the anterior margin of this sclerite, the comb on tergite VIII is widely interrupted medially but with long teeth laterally, and the ovipositor is unusually long and protrudes from the abdominal apex.

Thrips levatus Bhatti. Described from specimens collected in western India, this species is here recognized as being common in Malaysia. It has been found in considerable numbers in the flowers of starfruit ( Averrhoa carambola ) at UM and in Serdang, Selangor, but adults have also been taken from other plants, including Capsicum , Nephelium and Sesbania . The original description refers to the species as yellow with abdominal segments IX–X dark brown. This description seems likely to be based on individuals that had retained their teneral colouring; one female paratype has been studied in which the yellow abdomen has an increasingly brown area medially on tergites III–VIII. The females from carambola in Malaysia vary in body colour from almost entirely yellow with abdominal segments IX–X brown, to bicoloured with the abdomen uniformly brown but the head and thorax brownish-yellow and the legs yellow; the male is uniformly yellow. In the Natural History Museum, London, there are 12 females from India, Orissa, collected in 1993 from Tabernaemontana, Aganosoma (Apocynaceae) , Jasminum (Oleaceae) and Murraya (Rutaceae) . These show a similar range in body colour to the specimens from Malaysia.

Thrips malloti Priesner. Described from Java, with a synonymic species from Taiwan, this species is reported to be widespread from India to Australia and Okinawa. However, only a few specimens have been studied. The record from Malaysia in Palmer (1992) possibly refers to specimens from Sabah in the Natural History Museum, London. The females are dark brown with the base of the forewing paler, and the first vein bears a continuous row of setae.

Thrips melastomae Priesner. Described from Java, this species is probably widespread in Southeast Asia in the flowers of Melastoma species ( Palmer 1992) , and a series of both sexes from this plant at Genting is in the Natural History Museum, London. The females are brown, with sternal discal setae and a wide interval in the setal row on the forewing first vein, but unlike the common species T. hawaiiensis , the pronotal posteroangular setae are unusually short.

Thrips mirus Bhatti. Known only from India, with the holotype female from Mumbai, and four females under the synonymic name T. heveae Ananthakrishnan and Jagadish from Tamil Nadu, one female identified as this species has been studied from Malaysia. This was collected from mango flowers at Serdang , Selangor, in April 2008. The species differs from the new species described here, T. hanifahi , in having one pair of moderately prominent pronotal posteroangular setae that are about 15 microns long.

Thrips morindae Priesner. Described from Java, and recorded from Thailand (Mound, 2005), this species has the males brown in colour in contrast to the yellow males of T. javanicus . One female from Malaysia is here identified as T. morindae , collected from flowers of Melaleuca at MARDI, Serdang in March 2008. However, this identification requires further confirmation through the collection of more specimens of both sexes.

Thrips orientalis Bagnall. Widespread from India throughout southeastern Asia to northern Australia and Hawaii, this species is also recorded from Florida and the Caribbean. The metanotum is distinctively reticulate with markings inside the reticles, and the forewing is uniformly dark, however, the number of sternal discal setae is low and variable. In Malaysia, T. orientalis has been seen in considerable numbers, but only from Kuala Lumpur.

Thrips palmi Karny. This widespread Asian species has become distributed around other tropical countries in recent years, and can cause serious damage to various crops. A pale yellow thrips, it is similar to T. flavus in general appearance, but has ocellar setae pair III posterolateral to the fore ocellus, and the median striae of the metanotum converge near the posterior margin to form an inverted arch. In Malaysia the species is found both in the highlands and in the lowlands, and is common on various crops including Capsicum , Cucumis and Solanum species. A severe attack on Solanum melongena can lead to almost complete defoliation.

Thrips parvispinus Karny. Described from Thailand, and found commonly between that country and the Solomon Islands and northern Australia, this is considered to be the same species as Thrips taiwanus Takahashi ( Mound and Collins, 2000). This is a highly polyphagous species, and is likely to be a pest in some areas. It has been found widely in Peninsular Malaysia, from sites in Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, and Terengganu, on Capsicum , Carica , Citrus , Cucumis , Hibiscus , Solanum and Vigna . The forewing first vein has an uninterrupted row of setae, the metanotum has reticulate sculpture but rarely has any markings within any of the reticles, and although most sternites have discal setae, sternite VII has none (rarely a single weak discal seta is present medially).

Thrips simplex Morison. The gladiolus thrips is widespread around the world wherever these flowers are grown. The metanotal sculpture has markings within the reticulations, the forewing first vein has 6 to 8 setae on the distal half, and the ocellar setae are unusually short, scarcely longer than the diameter of an ocellus. The species is recorded from Malaysia on a single female taken from Zantedeschia in the Cameron Highlands in March 2008.

Thrips unispinus Moulton. Common in northern Australia in the flowers of various trees including mango, this species is recorded from Brunei, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands ( Mound and Masumoto, 2005). One female has been seen from Malaysia, taken on Averrhoa carambola at UM, in April 2008. The species is remarkable for the presence of only one pair of pronotal posteroangular setae. It appears to be related to T. mirus in lacking discal setae on the pleurotergites.

Thrips vitticornis Karny. Described from Thailand, this species is widespread from India through southeast Asia to the islands of the Pacific, including northern Australia. It is recorded from Malaysia on a few specimens taken from white flowers at Tioman Is. Among the species discussed here from Malaysia, the metanotal sculpture of T. vitticornis is characteristic with its closely spaced longitudinal striae, but the variation from 3 to 8 in the number of setae on the distal half of the forewing first vein can be confusing.

Figures

FIGURES 14–24. Thrips species. (14) T. simplex meso and metanotum; (15) T. parvispinus meso and metanotum; (16) T. vitticornis meso and metanotum; (17) T. florum forewing clavus; (18) T. hawaiiensis forewing clavus; (19) T. hanifahi head; (20) T. flavus head; (21) T. hanifahi pronotum; (22) T. coloratus tergites VII–VIII; (23) T. leeuwenii tergites VII–VIII; (24) T. hanifahi tergites VII–X.

FIGURES 1–13. Thrips species meso and metanota. (1) T. alatus; (2) T. alius; (3) T. coloratus; (4) T. florum; (5) T. hanifahi; (6) T. flavus; (7) T. leeuwenii; (8) T. hawaiiensis; (9) T. morindae; (10) T. palmi; (11) T. levatus (with pronotum); (12) T. orientalis; (13) T. mirus (with pronotum).