Dolichothrips franae, Mound & Okajima, 2015

Mound, Laurence A. & Okajima, Shûji, 2015, Taxonomic studies on Dolichothrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripinae), pollinators of Macaranga trees in Southeast Asia (Euphorbiaceae), Zootaxa 3956 (1), pp. 79-96 : 89

Dolichothrips franae sp.n.

( Figs 6 , 14 , 24 , 35 )

Female macroptera: Body and legs dark brown, fore tibiae yellow with brown shading at base, all tarsi yellow; antennal segment II brown with apex yellow, III–VIII yellow, VIII with variable faint shading on apical third or fifth; major setae brown to dark brown, tergite IX setae pale; fore wing clear, weakly shaded around sub-basal setae, clavus brown.

Head longer than wide ( Fig. 6 ), narrowed at base; without sculpture between ocelli, rest of vertex with narrow transverse reticulation; po setae finely acute, longer than dorsal eye length, arising laterally; maxillary stylets retracted almost to postocular setae, parallel and about one third of head width apart medially with prominent maxillary bridge; mouth cone long and pointed, extending between prosternal basantra ( Fig. 35 ); maxillary palps about 8 times as long as wide. Antennae 8-segmented; segment III with 3 slender sense cones about as long as segment width, IV with 4 sense cones; VIII weakly narrowed to base.

Pronotum sculptured across entire surface ( Fig. 6 ); major setae capitate; notopleural sutures complete. Fore femora swollen; fore tarsal tooth stout, about half as long as tarsal width. Prosternal basantra long and welldeveloped; ferna large; mesopresternum of two triangles extending to midline but not joining, mesoeusternal anterior margin broadly rounded; metathoracic sternopleural sutures not developed. Mesonotum with median longitudinal division about one third as long as this sclerite ( Fig. 14 ), lateral setae short and capitate. Metanotum medially with sculpture forming narrow longitudinal parallel, almost concentric, reticulation, median setae acute. Fore wings weakly constricted medially, sub-basal setae S1 and S2 with capitate apices, S3 blunt; with 8–11 duplicated cilia.

Pelta broadly triangular with almost no sculpture, campaniform sensilla present; tergites II–VII usually without an additional pair of sigmoid setae anterolateral to wing retaining setae ( Fig. 24 ); tergite IX setae pointed, longer than tube; anal setae longer than tube. Sternites with median pair of marginal setae long and slender, arising submarginally; about 12 small discal setae in irregular transverse row across each sternite.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 2400. Head, length 250; width across cheeks 175; po setae 100. Pronotum, length 225; median width 290; major setae, am 35, aa 40, ml 45, epim 55, pa 60. Mesonotal lateral setae 25. Fore wing, length 1000; sub-basal setae 50, 55, 70. Tergite IV lateral setae 85, 55. Tergite IX setae S1 250, S2 240. Tube length 200; longest anal setae 250. Antennal segments III–VIII length 70, 75, 65, 60, 60, 35.

Specimens examined. HAWAII, OAHU, Waiamanaloa, Luna Farm, holotype female, from Macaranga tanarius , 11.xi.2014 (F. Calvert), in BPBM.

Paratypes: 32 slide mounted females taken with holotype [this sample included over 100 females together with larvae that were left in ethanol]; same locality and host, 10 females, 11.iii.2010, 1 female with same data except Luna Road, 5 females with same data except not Luna Road or Farm. HAWAII, KAUAI, Wailua, 17 females from Macaranga tanarius , 9.iv.2010 ( R. Hollingsworth) .

Comments. Despite the large number of adults collected, no males of this species were found. It may represent a parthenogenetic strain that has been introduced from somewhere else in the western Pacific, as has its host plant, M. tanarius . In this connection, a single female has been studied from Macaranga at Gombak, Malaysia that cannot be distinguished from the specimens from Hawaii. Two other species from Malaysia, chikakoae and eriae , share the curious sculpture of the pronotum, but they have the mesonotal midlateral setae minute and finely pointed whereas these setae are slightly longer and weakly capitate or blunt in franae . Within the genus Dolichothrips this species is unique in having the terminal antennal segment effectively as yellow as the third to the seventh segments.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Dolichothrips species, head & pronotum. (1) chikakoae sp. n.; (2) crassusensus; (3) eriae sp. n.; (4) reuteri; (5) longicollis; (6) franae sp. n.

FIGURES 7 – 16. Dolichothrips species. Head & pronotum 7 – 9: (7) macarangai; (8) fialae sp. n.; (9) utae sp. n. Mesonotum and metanotum 10 – 15: (10) chikakoae sp. n.; (11) eriae sp. n.; (12) fialae sp. n.; (13) utae sp. n.; (14) franae sp. n.; (15) reuteri; (16) indicus mesonotum and pelta.

FIGURES 17 – 33. Dolichothrips species. (17) eriae sp. n. fore leg; (18) chikakoae sp. n. pelta, tergites II – III; (19) crassusensus tergites II – IV; (20) fialae sp. n. pelta, tergites II – III; (21) indicus (nesius holotype) tergites II – III; (22) indicus Syntype tergites II – IV; (23) indicus from Mo’orea, pelta, tergites II – III; (24) franae sp. n. tergites II – III. Pelta and tergites II – III 25 – 29: (25) eriae sp. n.; (26) longicollis; (27) macarangai; (28) utae sp. n.; (29) reuteri. Male pseudovirga 30 – 33: (30) fialae sp. n.; (31) longicollis; (32) macarangai; (33) reuteri.

FIGURES 34 – 38. Dolichothrips species mouth cone, prosternum and mesopresternum (34) fialae sp. n.; (35) franae sp. n.; (36) indicus; (37) longicollis; (38) reuteri.