Heterothrips stellae, Borbón, Carlos Manuel De, 2010

Borbón, Carlos Manuel De, 2010, The Heterothrips species of Argentina, with two new species and biological notes (Thysanoptera, Heterothripidae), Zootaxa 2562, pp. 45-56 : 50-56

Heterothrips stellae sp. n.

Female macropterous ( Fig. 35 ): Color: Body uniformly brown, fore tibiae and all tarsi yellowish, antennal segment I and II and V–IX brown, III yellowish brown and IV light brown ( Fig. 14 ); forewing brown with small sub-basal white fleck ( Fig. 32 ).

FIGURES 18–23. H. stellae : 18 Sternite V; 19 Tergite V; 20 Tergite VI; 21 Tergite VIII; 22 Tergite IX; 23 Tergite X.

Structure: Head ( Fig. 13 ) wider than long and broader at base, with three pairs of ocellar setae, pair III arising between the lines that connect fore and hind ocelli; with six pairs of equidistant postocular setae. Antennal segment III 4 -partite with short pedicel, sensorial band on III and IV apparently with one row of pores. Pronotum with transverse sculpture lines, about 30 discal setae and two pairs of rather prominent posteroangular setae. Mesonotum with transverse lines, one pair of more developed setae at posterior third of sclerite. Metanotum with concentric lines bearing many microtrichia on posterior third, with two pairs of setae, external pair at anterior margin inner pair at posterior margin, campaniform sensilla present. Tergites ( Figs 15, 16 , 19–23) II–VII with one pair of well developed setae medially, with microtrichia at middle but more abundant on lateral thirds, with several discal setae. Tergites I–VIII with posteromarginal comb of microtrichia, complete medially only on tergites VII–VIII; tergites VIII–X with discal microtrichia. Sternites (Fig. 18) with weak reticulation bearing microtrichia, I with minute setae at anterior ridge, II–VI with microtrichia on posterior margin, VII with few short microtrichia on posterior margin. Pleurites II–VII with posteromaginal microtrichia.

Measurements in microns Holotype female: Length 1500. Head length (width) 90 (159). Pronotum length (width) 117 (234). Forewing length 770. Tergite lengths, IX 98, X 61. Antennal segments I–IX length (width), 24 (27), 37 (24), 61 (22), 44 (22), 34 (20), 34 (18), 22 (12), 15 (12), 12 (7).

Male macropterous ( Fig. 36 ): Similar to female in colour and structure, but smaller and more slender. Sternites VI–VIII with irregular pore plate medially on anterior third ( Fig. 17 ).

Measurements in microns Paratype male: Length 1160. Head length (width) 122 (144). Forewing length 690. Sternite VIII pore plate width 59.

Material examined. Female holotype, ARGENTINA, Gustavo André, Mendoza (S32 37.766 W68 20.200), 5.xi.2009, on flowers of Prosopis alpataco (Fabaceae) , collected by de Borbón, in Museo de Ciencias Naturales de La Plata.

Paratypes, collected with holotype ARGENTINA, Gustavo André, Mendoza, on flowers of Prosopis alpataco , collected by de Borbón, 5.xi.2009 (S32 34.303 W68 14.648), 44 females and 2 males. A second series collected 10,8 km distant from the first series (S32 37.766 W68 20.200), 16 females and 2 males in Museo de La Plata and Laboratorio de Fitovirología EEA Mendoza INTA.

Comments. H. stellae differs from the other species of Group I, that is, the species without craspeda on the posterior margin of the abdominal tergites, because it has tergite X much shorter than tergite IX. Despite this, it is similar in several characters to H. spinosus Moulton , H. pithecolobiumaffinis Johansen and H. auracaniae Berzosa & Maroto. In contrast to H. prosopidis Crawford that also occurs on Prosopis ( Hoddle et al., 2008) , stellae does not have tergal craspeda.

Figures

FIGURES 33 – 37. H. pilarae: 33 Female; 34 Male. H. stellae: 35 Female; 36 Male. 37 H.? flavitibia

FIGURES 13 – 17. H. stellae: 13 Head and pronotum; 14 Antenna; 15 Tergites V – VI; 16 Tergites IX – X; 17 Sternites male.

FIGURES 24 – 32. H. marginatus: 24 tergite. H. moestus: 25 tergite. H. pilarae: 26 Sternites. H. cacti: 27 Sternites; 28 Antenna. H. myrceugenellae: 29. Antennal segment III – IV. H. pilarae: 30 Antennal segments III – IV; 31 Right forewing. H. stellae: 32 Right forewing.