Holopothrips brevisetus, Michel & Etienne, 2020

Michel, Bruno & Etienne, Jean, 2020, The genus Holopothrips Hood, 1914 in Guadeloupe with descriptions of two new species (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae), Zootaxa 4786 (2), pp. 254-260 : 255-257

Holopothrips brevisetus sp.n.

( Figs 1–6 )

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Female macroptera. Body uniformly brown ( Fig. 1 ). Antennal segments I and II brown, with the latter slightly paler, III–VI yellow, VII yellowish, slightly darker than previous, VIII darker than VII. Antennal segment III about four times as long as greatest width, slightly constricted medially ( Fig. 2 ); antennal segments III and IV with two and three sense cones, respectively. Fore coxa, trochanter and femur brown; fore tibia and tarsus yellow ( Fig. 1 ). Fore tarsal hamus not enlarged; fore coxa seta present but short and thin (cs, Fig. 3 ). Middle and hind legs brown with tibiae yellow apically ( Fig. 1 ); tarsi yellow. Wings well-developed ( Fig. 1 ) and forewing with seven to 12 duplicate ciliae. Head ( Fig. 3 ) about 1.6 times as long as wide; dorsal surface with faint transverse striation; cheeks paralell. Eyes well-developed but not holoptic. Maxillary stylets parallel, a little less than one third of head width apart, retracted to postocular setae ( Fig. 3 ); mouth cone rounded at tip ( Fig. 3 ). Postocular setae slightly capitate or almost blunt, reaching the posterior margin of eyes ( Fig. 3 ). Prothorax almost trapezoidal, slightly narrowed forwards ( Fig. 3 ). Surface of pronotum smooth with faint transverse lines along posterior margin; epimeral sutures incomplete ( Fig. 3 ); major setae: am short with acute apex, aa inconspicuous, ml, epim and pa well-developed with tip slightly capitate and frayed-like at apex. Prosternal basantra not developed. Mesonotum ( Fig. 4 ) reticulated, more or less equiangular in the anterior and posterior parts; internal markings present; surface smooth on both sides of the mesonotal suture; one pair of long lateral setae ( Fig. 4 ) and discal setae minute. Metanotum bearing one pair of small discal setae, and covered with longitudinally elongate reticles becoming gradually equiangular on the posterior half ( Fig. 4 ); internal markings present. Metanotal plate margins strongly narrowing towards posterior margin ( Fig. 4 ). Metapleural sutures absent. Pelta ( Fig. 4 ) triangular with blunt anterior tip and a pair of posterior campaniform sensilla; median area with irregular reticles bearing internal markings, and remaining surface with faint sculpture (not forming well-defined reticles); one elongate plate on each side of pelta along the anterior margin of abdominal tergite II (lp, Fig. 4 ). Abdominal tergites II–VII with three pairs of wing-retaining setae, anterior pair shortest. Some individuals with a small fourth wing-retaining seta on basal segments. Spermatheca S-shaped and not enlarged ( Fig. 5 ).

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 2800. Head, length 326; width 204; postocular setae 89. Pronotum, length 150; median width 275; major setae am 7, aa 4, ml 89, epim 109, pa 101. Mesonotum lateral setae 53. Antennal segments I–VIII length 49, 61, 113, 93, 93, 81, 61, 36, respectively. Tube length 214.

Male macroptera. Similar to female in both coloration and structure. Two anteroangular pore plates and two posterior elongate plates on abdominal sternite VII, two anteroangular pore plates and one posterior transverse plate on abdominal sternite VIII. Pore plate surface granulose ( Fig. 6 ).

Measurements (in microns). Body length 2366. Head, length 306; width 184; postocular setae 77. Pronotum length 125; median width 243; major setae am 6, aa 3, ml 73, epim 81, pa 73. Mesonotum lateral setae 49. Antennal segments I–VIII length 40, 49, 101, 81, 81, 77, 65, 34, respectively. Tube length 184.

Material examined. Holotype female, GUADELOUPE, Duclos (16.209052 / -61,749578), 22.ii.1989, in cucumber (J. Etienne leg.), JBOU1688 .

Paratypes: 2 males, 2 females, same data as holotype, slide codes JBOU 1691, JBOU 1694, JBOU 1686, JBOU 1687; 2 males, same data as holotype but collected on 22.ix.1989, JBOU 1689, JBOU 1690; 2 females, Guadeloupe, Pointe-Noire, Morne-à-Louis (16.187708 / -61.749578), 14.xii.2011, ex galls on leaves of Psychotria mapourioides + Pellacara postica (Cecidomyiidae) (J. Etienne leg.), JBOU 1692, JBOU 1693; 1 male, 1 female, Guadeloupe, Lamentin, Grosse Montagne (16.192622 / -61.714507), 21.i.2018, on leaves of Ficus in galls of Autodiplosis (Cecidomyiidae) (J. Etienne leg.), JBOU 3636, JBOU 3647.

Additional material examined: 1 male, 1 female examined on photographs, labelled as Holopothrips tenuis and collected on 22.ix.1989 at Duclos, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris).

Etymology. Named after one of the primary characters that discriminates it from H. tenuis , i.e. the minute anteromarginal setae. The specific epithet is formed by the combination of the Latin words brevis = short and seta = bristle.

Distribution. Known only from Guadeloupe.

Comments. Holopothrips brevisetus sp.n. resembles H. tenuis in having the head clearly longer than wide, parallel maxillary stylets retracted to po, and metanotal sculpture bearing internal markings. It was previously reported as the latter species by different authors ( Bournier 1993; Mound & Marullo 1996; Lindner et al. 2018). However, it differs from H. tenuis by the longer head, the minute anteromarginal setae, the sculpture of the mesonotum, the sculpture and the shape of the metanotal plate, which is not striate anteriorly, the shape of the antennal segment III, which is clearly longer and narrower, and the colour of the fore tibia, which is distinctly paler than the femur. The minute am and aa setae and the size of the third antennal segment differentiate H. brevisetus sp.n. from all other Holopothrips species.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Holopothrips brevisetus sp.n. (1) habitus of holotype; (2) antennal segments II and III; (3) head and pronotum (cs = coxal seta); (4) mesonotum, metanotum and pelta (lp = lateral plate); (5) spermatheca; (6) pore plates on abdominal sternites VII–VIII of male.