Mychiothrips fruticola Haga & Okajima, 1979

Okajima, Shûji & Masumoto, Masami, 2025, Some Poaceae-inhabiting Phlaeothripinae (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae) in East Asia, with descriptions of six new genera and 18 new species, Zootaxa 5726 (1), pp. 1-68 : 22-24

Mychiothrips fruticola Haga & Okajima , comb. rev.

( Figs 3 , 54–56 , 62–63, 68 , 76 )

Mychiothrips fruticola Haga & Okajima, 1979: 268 . This species was described from Honshu, the main island of Japan. It is commonly found on several bamboo species, e.g. Pleioblastus chino , P. simonii and Sasa nipponica , and sometimes found on common Japanese pampas grass, Mischanthus sinensis . Previously, this species had been found only from the warm temperate region of Japan, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, but it was found recently from the subtropical region of Japan, Okinawa Is., the Ryukyu Islands.Although the specimens from the temperate region including the type series have the body uniformly dark brown with brown legs in both sexes ( Figs 54 & 55 ), the males from Okinawa have the body sharply bicolored yellow and brown with yellow legs ( Fig. 56 ). Their head and posterior portion of abdomen are brown to dark brown, and the thorax and anterior portion of abdomen are largely yellow, despite the females being uniformly dark brown and indistinguishable from the females of the temperate region. Moreover, these specimens are indistinguishable in most structures from the type series and are considered a geographical variation within a single species. The biological significance of the conspicuous chromatic variation only in males is a particularly interesting problem.

Specimens examined. Japan, holotype female and most of paratypes (data described in Haga & Okajima,1979); additional many females and males from the temperate region of Japan (detailed data omitted). Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, 3 females and 3 males, Okinawa Is., Higashi-son, Takae , on bamboo, 31.vii.2003, TN .

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Stenchaetothrips pleioblasti, female 1–2: (1) dark form; (2) bicolored form. Mychiothrips fruticola: (3) a female on bamboo leaf. Aleurodothrips fasciapennis: (4) a female on bamboo leaf (the median dark portion of abdomen is slightly lifting up and somewhat similar to the movement of certain ant). Podothrips odonaspicola: (5) a female on bamboo stem with a coccid female (peeling off the leaf sheath).

FIGURES 53–61. Mychiothrips species 53–56: (53) M. crassipes, female; (54) M. fruticola, female; (55) M. fruticola, male from Honshu, Japan; (56) M. fruticola, male from Okinawa Is., the Ryukyus. Veerabahuthrips species, female 57–60: (57) V. bambusae; (58) V. clarus; (59) V. longicornis; (60) V. tridentatus. (61) Takeazamiuma exilis comb. nov.

FIGURES62–70.Mychiothrips fruticola, head,prothorax andforeleg 62–63:(62) large female;(63)smallmale.Veerabahuthrips species, head, prothorax and fore leg, female 64–67: (64) V. bambusae; (65) V. clarus; (66) V. longicornis; (67) V. tridentatus. Mesonotum, female 68–70: (68) M. fruticola; (69) V. longicornis; (70) V. tridentatus.

FIGURES 71–82. Takeazamiuma gen. nov. species, head, prothorax and fore leg, female 71–72: (71) T.exilis comb. nov.; (72) T. simplex comb. nov. Mesonotum, female 73–74: (73) T. exilis comb. nov.; (74) T. simplex comb. nov. Antenna of Mychiothrips, Veerabahuthrips and Takeazamiuma gen. nov., female 75–82: (75) M. crassipes; (76) M. fruticola; (77) V. bambusae; (78) V. clarus; (79) V. longicornis; (80) V. tridentatus; (81) T. exilis comb. nov.; (82) T. simplex comb. nov.