Baenothrips Crawford, 1948

Mound, Laurence A. & Wells, Alice, 2023, Endemism among Lord Howe IslandThysanoptera, with new species of Baenothrips (Phlaeothripidae) and Scirtothrips (Thripidae), Zootaxa 5228 (1), pp. 81-91 : 82

Baenothrips Crawford

This genus was erected for a single species known only from a single specimen reputed to be from Guatemala. Subsequently two further species from the Neotropics were placed in this genus, but the remaining six species in Baenothrips are all from the Old World tropics or subtropics (ThripsWiki 2022). They belong to a group of genera that is often referred to as the Urothripines, and species of these genera are usually wingless, and have the tenth abdominal segment long and parallel-sided ( Figs 12–13 ). Variation in colour is commonly reported between samples of such wingless species, and in drawing attention to this situation in Australia, Mound (1972) decided not to consider as separate species each of the colour variants of Urothrips reedi (Stannard) . There is currently no satisfactory explanation for the colour diversity amongst samples of such wingless leaf-litter thrips. However, it may be significant that no males have been found of B. bulbosus sp.n., although both sexes have been seen of the other two species described below.

In mainland Australia, only two species of Baenothrips are found commonly. One of these, caenosus (Stannard) , has been studied only from southeastern localities. In contrast, moundi (Stannard) has been found widely across the continent south of Brisbane including Tasmania, and has also been studied from Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and New Zealand. Although over 100 slide-mounted apterae of this species have been studied, only three macropterae have been seen (two from Tasmania; one from Canberra). These macropterae of moundi have each compound eye narrowed ventrally to a row that is only two facets wide. However, three damaged macropterae have been seen from northern Queensland that are essentially similar to moundi but have the ventral part of the compound eyes consisting of a broad row that is three or four facets wide. Two further unidentified apterae of Baenothrips have been studied, one from Western Australia (Barrow Island) and one from Tasmania, and although both are essentially similar to caenosus they have all three pairs of anal setae almost equally elongate. The significance of the above five specimens remains in doubt.

Figures

FIGURES 1–13. Baenothrips species. Metanotum and tergites I–II 1–2: (1) moundi; (2) goweri. Head 3–7: (3) caenosus; (4) bulbosus; (5) goweri; (6) leukos; (7) moundi. Antenna 8–11: (8) caenosus; (9) bulbosus; (10) goweri; (11) moundi. Tergites IX–X: (12) bulbosus; (13) moundi.