Azaleothrips moundi Okajima

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2015, Fungus-feeding Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripinae of the Idiothrips genus-group in Australia, with nine new species, Zootaxa 4034 (2), pp. 325-341 : 329

Azaleothrips moundi Okajima

Azaleothrips moundi Okajima, 1976: 19 ; Okajima & Masumoto, 2014: 332 .

The two males listed below are identified as this species with some hesitation. They are both hemimacropterous, with wings 200 microns long and almost as long as the pterothorax width, also the pelta is bell-shaped and thus more typical of macropterae. In contrast, the micropterae of moundi from its previously known distribution in southern Japan and Taiwan have wings that are 100 microns long and the pelta broadly oval. There are slight differences in the body sculpture between the two specimens from Australia and those from Asia, but the observed wing morph differences suggest that it is not sensible to describe these two males as a distinct species. Among the 37 species of Azaleothrips now known, only moundi and perniger have only two sense cones on both antennal segments III and IV, and segments VII and VIII are particularly closely joined.

Material studied. Australia, Queensland, Redlynch, Crystal Creek, 2 males from Macaranga lvs, 5.xi.2008 (LAM5191).