Thrips cacuminis, Vierbergen, Gijsbertus, 2014

Vierbergen, Gijsbertus, 2014, Thysanoptera intercepted in the Netherlands on plant products from Ethiopia, with description of two new species of the genus Thrips, Zootaxa 3765 (3), pp. 269-278 : 273-274

Thrips cacuminis sp. n.

Description. Holotype female. Body brown, legs completely dark brown, except light brown fore tibia and tarsi (Fig. 3); antennal segment III pale, IV light brown, the others brown; fore wing dark except partly at base.

Antennae with 8 relatively short segments, V short and broadly attached to VI. Ocellar setae III short, on or outside triangle (Fig. 4). Pronotum sculptured medially, posteromarginal setae 7: 4 at the left, 3 at the right, posteroangular setae 40–45 microns (Fig. 5); fore wing clavus with 5 or 6 veinal setae, fore vein setation 3, 4, 8 (left wing) and 4, 4, 9 (right wing); setae in long row widely spaced (Fig. 3); metanotum with closely spaced longitudinal sculpture lines, without campaniform sensilla, anteromedial setae far behind anterior margin (Fig. 6). Abdominal tergites II– VIII with S1 setae about one fifth as long as median length of segment; tergite II with 4 lateromarginal setae; ctenidia present on tergites V–VIII; tergite VIII comb complete, very short in middle (Fig. 8); tergite IX with two pairs of campaniform sensilla. Sternites III–VII with single row of discal setae; pleurotergites with ciliate microtrichia, without discal setae.

Male. Similar to female, but abdominal segment VIII posteromarginal comb with short widely spaced microtrichia; segment IX with setae S1 and S 2 in one line; sternites III–VII each with pore plate almost half as wide as sternite, width/length 64-80/20 microns; only 2 setae lateral to each pore plate.

Type material. Holotype female, Ethiopia intercepted in Netherlands, Rijnsburg, Rosa cut flower, 19.xii.2004, (J.G. de Zeeuw), in NBC.

Paratypes: 15 females, same collection data as holotype in PPS; 3 females, 1 male: same collection data as holotype, in SMF.

Other material (non-paratypes). 7 females, Jemen, südliches Hochland, Prov. Dhamar, Jebel Kanin, 2800 m, 20.iii.1989, (R. zur Strassen). SMF T 16272a. Collected from flowers of Euryops arabicus (Asteraceae) (R. zur Strassen, pers. com., 31.iii.2005).

The following material is deposited in PPS: Ethiopia intercepted in Netherlands, on Rosa cut flower: De Kwakel, 1 female 15.xi.2004 (L. Vriens); Rijnsburg, 3 females 2.xii.2004, 1 female, 4.ii.2005 (J. G. de Zeeuw); Venlo, 1 female, 19.xii.2004 (H. Lemmen); Sassenheim, 1 female, 4.ii.2005 (J. G. de Zeeuw).

Etymology. This species has been collected near a summit (cacuminum) of one of the higher mountains of Yemen (Jabal Kanin, 3215m). Rose cut flowers in Ethiopia are cultivated at high elevations and usually in the highlands (Anonymous 2011).

Comments. Females of this species are variable in fore wing chaetotaxy and metanotal sculpture (Figs 6, 7). Within the genus Thrips the species shares the following character states with the species indicated: antennae 8- segmented, fore wing first vein with 7 or more distal setae, metanotal sculpture striate, sternites II–VIII with discal setae, pleurotergites without discal setae: T. fulmeki (Priesner) from Indonesia, T. gardeniae Palmer from New Guinea and Solomon Islands, T. meruensis (Trybom) from Democratic Republic Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and T. vitticornis (Karny) from Southeast Asia, Australia and Islands in the Pacific. T. fulmeki and T. vitticornis have the medial metanotal setae distant from the anterior margin by about the diameter of the setal pore or less (versus distance more than two times the diameter of the setal pore). Additionally the single female of T. fulmeki has pronotal posteroangular setae 106 and 117 microns long, and T. vitticornis has abdominal tergite VIII posteromarginal comb absent medially. T. gardeniae also has abdominal tergite VIII with the comb absent medially and posteroangular setae about 120 microns long. T. meruensis differs in ocellar setae III placed inside the triangle, the pronotum almost completely smooth, without striation and pronotal posteroangular setae about 140 microns long.