Carientothrips flavitibia (Moulton, 1968: 117), 2014

Eow, Li-Xin, 2014, Australian species of spore-feeding Thysanoptera in the genera Carientothrips and Nesothrips (Thysanoptera: Idolothripinae), Zootaxa 3821 (2), pp. 193-221 : 200-201

Carientothrips flavitibia (Moulton, 1968: 117) stat.rev.

( Figs 2, 8 , 20 , 35 )

Described originally in Bolothrips , from five females taken near Cairns in northern Queensland, also a male from Barrington Tops area in New South Wales, this species appears to live mainly in rainforest. It has been found widely in suitable rainforest areas of eastern Queensland near Brisbane and near Cairns, and a few specimens have also been studied from Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. It is closely related to mjobergi , the common species of dry sclerophyll forest, but has brightly bicoloured legs with the tibiae yellow, and the second maxillary palp with transverse sculpture lines. Moreover, the sculpture is more strongly developed, particularly on the head, and the pelta is rather wider. As noted above, a few individuals from Queensland, provisionally identified as alienatus but excluded from the type series of that species, have the mid and hind tibiae clear yellow and thus look very like flavitibia despite the eyes not being prolonged ventrally.

Diagnosis. Macropterous or micropterous with fore wing lobe as long as thorax width; body uniformly brown, mid and hind tibiae and tarsi clear yellow in contrast to brown femora, antennal segment I–II brown, III yellow, IV–V yellow with apex gradually more strongly shaded, VI brown with pedicel yellow, VII–VIII brown; fore wings pale brown. Head longer than wide, projecting in front of eyes ( Fig. 2 ); eyes with one ommatidium displaced to posterior on ventral surface ( Fig. 8 ) (sometimes slightly displaced not far posteriorly); postocellar setae acute, arising posterior to hind ocelli; postocular setae long and slightly blunt; maxillary stylets parallel about half of head width apart, retracted to postocular setae; maxillary palp segment I about 3 times as long as wide, segment II slightly shorter than I with transverse sculpture lines ( Fig. 20 ); pronotal am small slender and acute; aa, ml, epim blunt to weakly capitate, pa pointed; notopleural sutures complete; pelta median lobe elongate, narrowly connected to lateral wings ( Fig. 35 ); tergite IX setae bluntly pointed, about 0.8 as long as tube; tube shorter than head. Male smaller than female; fore tarsus with stout tooth; large males with setae on head and pronotum longer and more pointed.

Figures

FIGURES 1–9. Carientothrips species. Head: (1) mjobergi, (2) flavitibia, (3) tasmanica, (4) alienatus major male, (5) loisthus macropterae. Ventral eye surface: (6) alienatus, (7) miskoi, (8) flavitibia, (9) tasmanica.

FIGURES 16–20. Carientothrips species. Maxillary palps: (16) palumai, (17) alienatus, (18) tasmanica, (19) loisthus, (20) flavitibia.

FIGURES 31–36. Carientothrips species. Metathorax and pelta: (31) calami, (32) tasmanica, (33) mjobergi, (34) snowi. Pelta: (35) flavitibia. Thoracic sternites: (36) alienatus.