Mesothrips crenulatus Varatharajan & Singh, 2017

Varatharajan, R., Johnson, Th. & Tarunkumar, Singh, 2017, Relationships and revised status of Nagathrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripinae), Zootaxa 4231 (4), pp. 577-580 : 579

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4231.4.8
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B61C2627-08FF-4F27-86BE-ACE5FC934497
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6015026
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D759CB1E-FFAB-FFC5-7E88-FCF267223A8E
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Mesothrips crenulatus
status	comb. nov.

Treatment

Nagathrips crenulatus (Varatharajan & Singh) View in CoL comb.n.

Mesothrips (Nagathrips) crenulatus Varatharajan & Singh, 2000: 48 View in CoL .

Specimens examined. Holotype female macroptera: NE India, Kekruma in Phek district of Nagaland, ( Lat : 25 0 62'265" N; Long : 94 0 25'025"E), 1642m, from the galls of Bixa orellana (Bixaceae) View in CoL , 11.ii.2000 (O. Tarun Kumar) (Registration No. 4944/H17) in the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata . Paratypes: 2 females with data as holotype; Mizoram, Dampa Tiger Reserve (23 0 32'42" N; 92 0 13'12" E), 4 females from stems of Mallotus View in CoL sp. ( Euphorbiaceae View in CoL ) 12.iii.2014 (Th. Johnson) in the Insect Museum, Division of Entomology, CAS in Life Sciences , Manipur University; one paratype in National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru.

Biology. Only females of N. crenulatus have been discovered. These were collected from the stem and also empty rolled-leaf galls on Bixa orellana (Bixaceae) , and also from the stems of Mallotus sp. ( Euphorbiaceae ). Larvae were present in a colony on the stem of Mallotus , together with a few pupae and eggs, but attempts to rear further adults were not successful. Feeding habits of this species could not be determined. The larval aggregation suggests that the species is not a predator, but it might be phytophagous or mycophagous.