Litotetothrips tareei, Mound & Tree, 2021

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2021, Litotetothrips Priesner (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae); an Asian genus newly recorded from Australia with two new species and one new combination, Zootaxa 5027 (3), pp. 445-450 : 448-450

Litotetothrips tareei sp.n.

( Figs 5, 8, 9 )

Male macroptera. Body and legs brown, head and tube darkest, fore tibiae brownish yellow distally, fore tarsi yellow but mid and hind tarsi brown; antennal segment II yellow distally, III yellow, IV–V yellow on basal half, VI–VIII brown; fore wings brown at base, then a pale band followed by weak shading but with apical third paler with margins shaded; major setae on head and pronotum dark, all abdominal setae pale. Head scarcely longer than wide, widest just behind eyes, genae narrowed to basal neck without setae; vertex with irregular transverse sculpture lines; compound eyes without an enlarged posterolateral facet; stylets apparently retracted to postocular setae; po setae blunt at apex. Antennal segment IV with 3 sense cones. Pronotum with a few sculpture lines at anterior and posterior, smooth medially; am and aa setae blunt, almost half as long as epim setae; notopleural sutures complete; epim and pa setae weakly capitate. Mesonotal lateral setae small and blunt at apex; metanotal median setae small and acute. Prosternal ferna large, distance between them slightly less than their diameter ( Fig. 9 ); mesopresternum transverse and fully developed. Fore wing with 10–13 duplicated cilia. Pelta broadly triangular, with paired campaniform sensilla ( Fig. 5 ); tergite lateral setae blunt to weakly capitate; tergite IX setae S1 long and pointed, setae S2 short and stout; tube with straight sides, anal setae shorter than tube.

Measurements (holotype male in microns). Body length 2150. Head, length 225; width behind eyes 200; po setae 40. Pronotum, length 150; width 250; major setae—am 20, aa 15, ml 30, epim 55, pa 40. Fore wing, length 850, width 85; sub-basal setae 30, 30, 35. Mesonotal lateral setae 25; metanotal median setae 15. Tergite VI lateral setae 85. Tergite IX setae 180, 35, 190. Tube length 210. Antennal segments III–VIII length 65, 70, 65, 60, 55, 45.

Female macroptera. Similar in colour and structure to male; antennal segments V–VI almost uniformly brown, and major setae on head and pronotum more clearly capitate.

Specimens studied. Holotype male, New South Wales, 3 km north of Lansdowne (near Taree ), from an unknown tree, 21.xi.1990 (G. Williams) ( ANIC).

Paratypes: same locality and collector as holotype, 1 male from Caldcluvia paniculosa , 13.xi.1990 (in ANIC) ; Queensland, Mt Glorious rainforest, 1 female from dead leaves, 1.viii.2012 ( DJT1392 ) (in QDPC).

Comments. In the shape of the head and body this species is similar to caledonensis , but both sexes are considerably larger with unusually dark brown setae on the head and pronotum, the pronotal setae are more robust, the posterolateral eye facets are not larger than the other facets, and the distal third of the fore wings is paler than the median area.

Figures

FIGURES 1‒10. Litotetothrips species. Head & pronotum 1–2: (1) gallicola; (2) caledonensis. Mesonotum to tergite II 3–5: (3) caledonensis; (4) gallicola; (5) tareei. Antenna 6-8: (6) caledonensis; (7) gallicola; (8) tareei. Thoracic sternites 9–10: (9) tareei; (10) caledonensis.