Scolothrips asura Ramakrishna & Margabhandu 1931 : 1035

Mound, Laurence A., 2011, Species recognition in the genus Scolothrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae), predators of leaf-feeding mites, Zootaxa 2797, pp. 45-53 : 47

Scolothrips asura Ramakrishna & Margabhandu 1931: 1035

Scolothrips quadrinotata Han & Zhang 1982: 56 syn.n.

Described from India, this strongly bicoloured species is sometimes taken from field crops, and is known from Thailand, Taiwan, Ryukyu Is ( Japan), and northern Australia. There is nothing in the description of quadrinotata to distinguish it from asura , and Han (1997) indicated that he had described the species based on comparisons to details of setal lengths published by other authors, not by examining specimens. The head, metathorax, and abdominal segments I–II and VI–VIII are brown with bright red internal pigment in life. In contrast, the legs, pronotum and abdominal segments III–V are yellow, although segments IX–X vary from brownish yellow to brown. On the fore wing, the first dark band extends to the base of the wing and includes the clavus. The metanotal sculpture is similar to that of ochoa ( Fig. 4 ), in contrast to the other species in the genus, but the antennae ( Fig. 5 ) resemble those of typical Scolothrips species.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Scolothrips species. (1) S. ochoa, pro, meso and metanota. Head and thorax 2 – 3 (arrow indicates position of posteromesad discal setae): (2) S. latipennis; (3) S. sexmaculatus. Antenna 4 – 5: (4) S. ochoa; (5) S. asura. (6) S. brevipilis (in Canada balsam). (7) S. sexmaculatus (in clove oil). (8) S. rhagebianus (in Hoyers mountant).