Heligmothrips macropus, Mound & Tree & Wells, 2022

Mound, Laurence A., Tree, Desley J. & Wells, Alice, 2022, Convoluted maxillary stylets among Australian Thysanoptera Phlaeothripinae associated mainly with Casuarinaceae trees, Zootaxa 5190 (3), pp. 301-332 : 323-324

Heligmothrips macropus sp.n.

( Figs 57 , 68 )

Female macroptera. Body dark brown, fore tibiae and all tarsi paler; antennae brown, apex of II paler and III brownish yellow; major setae pale to very weakly shaded; fore wings pale. With the character states given in the generic diagnosis, except as follows: head longer than wide, genae without prominent setae ( Fig. 57 ); postocular setae capitate, extending well beyond hind margin of eyes; eyes smaller ventrally than dorsally; hind ocelli close to eyes; maxillary stylets cross over at level of postocular setae, the re-cross at posterior margin of head and producing one simple posterolateral flexure before entering mouth cone; mouth cone bluntly pointed. Antennal segments not elongate, III about twice as long as wide. Prothorax large, pronotum elongate, slightly longer than wide and much narrower than prothorax ( Fig. 68 ); reticulate on anterior third, also laterally; anteromarginal setae minute, remaining major setae long, pale and capitate. Mesonotal lateral setae capitate. Metanotum reticulate, median setae finely pointed. Prosternal ferna large, mesopresternum of two lateral triangles, mesoeusternum anterior margin convex. Fore tarsal tooth massive, almost as long as tarsal width. Fore wing with 13 duplicated cilia. Pelta elongate bellshaped; tergites II–VII each with 2 pairs of wing-retaining setae of which the anterior pair is small on each tergite; tergite IX with all 3 major setae long and capitate; tube broad at base, shorter than head.

Measurements. Body length 2400. Head, length 230; width medially 145; po setae 80. Pronotum, length 300; width 300; prothorax width 400; major setae – am 5, aa 75, ml 60, epim 75, pa 50. Fore wing length 850; sub-basal setae 50. Tergite IX setae S1 155, S2 115. Tube, basal width 100, length 180. Antennal segments III–VIII length 70, 68, 55, 55, 55, 30.

Specimens studied. Holotype female, South Australia: Kangaroo Island, Stokes Bay , from A. verticillata , 30.xi.2021 ( LAM6501 ).

Paratypes, South Australia: 2 females taken with holotype .

Comments. Known only from Kangaroo Island, hence the specific epithet, this species is remarkable amongst members of the Teuchothrips group for the elongate head with parallel genae. The pronotum resembles that of H. exallus sp.n. in being unusually long, about as long as wide and much narrower than the prothorax. However, the arrangement of the maxillary stylets is similar to that found in H. brevidens in having only a single lateral flexure.

Figures

FIGURES 51–59. Heligmothrips species heads and stylets. (51) brevidens; (52) erinaceus; (53) gracilior; (54) eiletus; (55) eiletus larva; (56) exallus; (57) macropus; (58) narrabri; (59) xantoskelus.

FIGURES 60–68. Heligmothrips species thorax and antenna. (60) eiletus; (61) narrabri; (62) exallus; (63) xanthoskelus; (64) exallus; (65) xanthoskelus; (66) narrabri; (67) exallus antenna; (68) macropus pronotum.