Azaleothrips laocai Okajima & Masumoto, 2014

Dang, Lihong, Li, Yaya, Mound, Laurence A. & Qiao, Gexia, 2023, The Oriental fungus-feeding genus Azaleothrips Ananthakrishnan, 1964 from China with one new species and four new records (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae, Phlaeothripinae), ZooKeys 1183, pp. 219-231 : 219

Azaleothrips laocai Okajima & Masumoto, 2014

Fig. 9

Azaleothrips laocai Okajima & Masumoto, 2014: 325.

Specimens studied.

China - Shaanxi •1♀ (SNUT); Hanzhong; on dead leaves; 20.vii.2017; Lihong Dang leg. • 1♀ (SNUT); Yanan; 25.vii.2019; Weiyan Liu leg.

Comments.

Azaleothrips laocai was described from Vietnam on dead branches. It belongs to the Azaleothrips amabilis species group, which bears three and four sense cones on antennal segments III and IV, respectively. Currently, this species has the largest body size of any known Azaleothrips species, with two females from Shaanxi, China about 2270-2350 μm in body length, whereas the body lengths of other Azaleothrips spcies are usually no more than 2000 μm. These two females from Shaanxi show a little difference in antennae coloration; segment IV is brown, with the apex and base pale, as well as the base of V pale (Fig. 9 ), but in the original description of A. laocai the basal neck of IV is yellowish and V is uniformly brown.

Figures

Figures 8 - 14. Antennae of Azaleothrips species 8 A. formosae 9 A. laocai 10 A. laevigatus 11 A. moundi 12 A. siamensis 13 A. sphaericus sp. nov. 14 A. templeri.