Neohydatothrips gracilipes (Hood)

Lima, Élison Fabrício B. & Mound, Laurence A., 2016, Species-richness in Neotropical Sericothripinae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), Zootaxa 4162 (1), pp. 1-45 : 25

Neohydatothrips gracilipes (Hood)

( Figs 26 , 56 , 94 )

Sericothrips gracilipes Hood, 1924: 149 .

Female macroptera. Colour: body yellow with light brown markings ( Fig. 94 ), ocellar region faintly shaded; pronotal blotch light brown, with margins poorly defined; anterior margin of mesonotum, and lateral margins of metanotum light brown; tergites II–VII with antecostal ridge dark and brown markings anterolaterally, VIII–X yellow; fore wing pale with faintly shaded area in basal third, clavus shaded; antennal segments I–II pale, III pale medially but shaded at base and apex, base of IV pale; hind tibiae yellow, femora lightly shaded.

Structure: Occipital apodeme not confluent with posterior margin of eyes; ocellar area irregularly reticulate ( Fig. 26 ); mouth cone long, extending between fore coxae; antennal segments III & IV with apex weakly constricted into neck; pronotum transversely striate, blotch with transverse row of setae on anterior margin ( Fig. 26 ); mesonotum and anterior part of metanotum striate; metasternal plate moderately emarginate ( Fig. 56 ); fore wing second vein with no setae; tergites VII–VIII with complete comb of long microtrichia on posterior margin, no comb medially on remaining tergites; tergite IX with two pairs of mid-dorsal setae; sternites III–VI with discal microtrichia medially, but not VII.

Larva II. Pale, with few microtrichia on dorsal surface. Antennae 7-segmented, segment I yellow, II–VII yellowish brown. Thorax without brown sclerotized areas. Body with several long brown setae with fringed but not expanded apices, up to about 32 microns long on thorax and abdominal tergites I–IV, arising from normal setae insertions; sternal setae acute.

Material studied. Holotype female, MEXICO. Laguna District, 25.x.1917 ( USNM) . Several females from INDIA, THAILAND, NEW CALEDONIA and NORTHERN AUSTRALIA ( ANIC) .

Comments. Described originally from Mexico in association with extensive damage to a crop of cotton, and subsequently recorded from various places around the Caribbean ( Mound & Marullo, 1996), this species is probably widespread on its major host plants, various weedy species of Sida . It has been recorded on these plants both from central India ( Bhatti et al., 1999), from across northern Australia ( Mound 2002), and Galapagos Is. ( Ecuador) ( Hoddle & Mound 2011). It is closely related to N. burungae and N. signifer , but has the mouth cone unusually long and is further distinguished by the characters indicated in the key above. It is not yet recorded from Brazil, but is likely to be present.

Figures

FIGURES 24 – 31. Neohydatothrips species. Head and pronotum 24 – 29: (24) gaucho; (25) goianus; (26) gracilipes; (27) ikelus; (28) inversus; (29) luculentus. Pronotum 30 – 31: (30) hadrosetae; (31) lassatus.

FIGURES 50 – 66. Neohydatothrips species. Head and pronotum 50 – 51: (50) paraensis; (51) burungae. (52) samayunkur, pro, meso and metanotum. Metasternal plate 53 – 59: (53) burungae; (54) chelinus; (55) dosulis; (56) gracilipes; (57) humberto; (58) sidae; (59) inversus. (60) burungae male sternite VII. Antennal segments III – V: (61) inversus paratype; (62) geminus paratype; (63) sulcus. Antennal segments III – VIII: (64) novateutoniae; (65) renatae; (66) plaumanni.

FIGURES 92 – 103. Neohydatothrips species. (92) fimbriatus (male), (93) flavicollis (female), (94) gracilipes (female), (95) hemileucus (female), (96) hemileucus (male), (97) ikelus (female), (98) inversus (female), (99) inversus (male), (100) maculicollis (female), (101) maculicollis (male), (102) paraensis (female), (103) portoricensis (female).