Thrips tomeus, Mound & Masumoto, 2005

Mound, Laurence A. & Masumoto, Masami, 2005, The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand, Zootaxa 1020 (1), pp. 1-64 : 52-54

Thrips tomeus sp.n.

Diagnosis: Female with body, legs and antennae brown, tarsi yellow also apices of tibiae and base of antennal segment III; forewings weakly shaded, base pale. Head relatively elongate ( Fig. 96 ); ocellar setae III short, arising just within ocellar triangle; postocular setae I almost as long as side of ocellar triangle, III and V twice as long as II and IV. Antennae 8­segmented. Pronotum without sculpture lines, 12–16 discal setae present each about as long as postocular setae I; postero­angular setae more than 0.5 as long as median length of pronotum. Fore tarsus with prominent pretarsal claw ( Fig. 99 ). Mesonotum with no sculpture lines near anterior campaniform sensilla. Metanotum ( Fig. 97 ) with irregular longitudinal reticulations or striae; median setae just behind anterior margin, campaniform sensilla present. Forewing first vein with 20 setae in complete row, second vein with 16 setae; clavus with terminal and subterminal setae subequal. Tergite II with 4 lateral margin setae; tergites IV–VI each with no lines of sculpture extending mesad of setae S2; ctenidia present on tergites V–VIII, ctenidium on VIII terminating close to spiracle anterior to setae S3 ( Fig. 98 ); tergite VIII with posteromarginal comb complete; sternites and pleurotergites with no discal setae.

Measurements of holotype female in microns: Body length 1550. Head, length 115; width 125; ocellar setae III 12. Pronotum, length 125; width 175; postero­angular setae 75. Forewing length 850. Antennal segments III–VIII length 65, 52, 37, 50, 12, 15.

Type material: Holotype female, Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Molonglo Gorge , from Epacridaceae , 28.x.2000 (LAM 3953), in ANIC.

Paratypes: 1 ♀, same locality, from Pultenaea leaves, 21.x.2000 (LAM 3940) .

Breeding: The host­plant of this species is not known, but it is likely to be one of the species of Epacridaceae that are common at the type locality.

Distribution: Known only from the Australian Capital Territory.

Relationships: Closely related to the Western Australian T. seticollis , which has a similar large pretarsal claw on the fore tarsus, T. tomeus has the head more slender, antennae darker, and the metanotum less tightly striate ( Fig. 97 ).

Figures

FIGURES 96–105. Thrips species. T. tomeus 96–99: (96) Head & pronotum; (97) Meso­metanota; (98) Tergites VII–VIII; (99) Fore tarsus. T. trehernei (100) Meso­metanota. T. unispinus 101–102: (101) Head & pronotum; (102) Sternites VI–VII. T. vitticornis 103–104: (103) Meso­metanota; (104) Head & pronotum. T. vulgatissimus (105) Meso­metanota.