Holopothrips bicolor, Lindner & Ferrari & Mound & Cavalleri, 2018

Lindner, Mariana F., Ferrari, Augusto, Mound, Laurence A. & Cavalleri, Adriano, 2018, Holopothrips diversity-a Neotropical genus of gall-inducing insects (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae), Zootaxa 4494 (1), pp. 1-99 : 23-25

Holopothrips bicolor sp. n.

( Figs 32–38 )

Diagnostic features. Body mostly yellow with head and abdominal segments VIII–X fully brown; dorsolateral surface of head with minute tubercles on sculpture; one pair of long setae on epimeral region; metanotal sculpture formed by equiangular reticles; males with pore plates on sternites VI–VIII; female spermatheca enlarged medially. Macropterous female: Body ( Fig. 32 ) bicoloured, mostly light yellow, with head and abdominal segments VIII–X dark brown. Antennal segments I–II concolourous with head, III yellow with base light brown, IV–VI yellow, VII yellow basally and light brown apically, VIII light brown. Fore wings pale, without median dark line, clavus light yellow; major body setae light yellow.

Head ( Fig. 33 ) about 1.25 times as long as width behind eyes, dorsal surface with transverse lines of sculpture enclosing some transversely elongated reticles; cheeks curved, bearing several minute tubercles on sculpture dorsolaterally. Eyes large, slightly kidney-shaped, dorsal length about 0.5 of head length; po with acute to slightly expanded apex, subequal or shorter than the diameter of an ocellus. Maxillary stylets parallel, reaching po level and about a third of head width apart. Mouth cone with rounded tip, not reaching the posterior margin of fore coxae. Antennal segment III with 3 sense cones and IV with 3 sense cones + 1 additional small sense cone.

Pronotum ( Fig. 33 ) rectangular to slightly trapezoidal, faint reticulate sculpture covering its surface, better defined near margins; epimeral sutures incomplete and short. Five pairs of well-developed pronotal setae, one pair on epimera; all pairs with capitate tips. Basantra absent; prosternal ferna well-developed, almost touching medially, anterior margins weakly produced. Mesonotum ( Fig. 34 ) with equiangular reticulation medially, elongate laterally and anteriorly; internal markings on sculpture absent. Metanotum ( Fig. 38 ) with equiangular reticles, slightly elongate near laterals, internal markings on sculpture absent; six to eleven anterior discal setae and one pair of median major setae present. Fore tarsal hamus not enlarged. Fore wings with 5 to 8 duplicated cilia.

Pelta ( Fig. 36 ) triangular to arcuate, anterior margin rounded to straight, no lateral wings but with weak projections near base; one pair of campaniform sensilla present. Sculpture present anteromedially but weaker or absent posteriorly; almost equiangular reticles medially, elongated reticles laterally, internal markings on sculpture present in some specimens. Tergite II apparently smooth medially but with lines on lateral thirds; sculpture less defined on further tergites. Tergites II–VII with three pairs of wing retaining setae. Tergite IX setae S1 and S2 with capitate apexes, S3 finely acute. Tube about 0.7 of head length and about 2.3 times as long as greatest width near base, apical width about 0.5 of basal width. Spermatheca ( Fig. 37 ) swollen medially.

Measurements (female holotype in microns): Length about 2587; head length 271, width behind eyes 220, po length 17, eye dorsal length 137; median length of pronotum 162, width across ep 305, am 40, aa 42, ml 37, ep 80, pa 54; width of mesonotum 315; fore wing length 950; tergite IX setae S1 127, S2 145, S3 137; tergite X length 200, basal width 91, apical width 45; length(width) of antennal segments III–VIII 72 (25), 62(27), 65(27), 57(22), 52(19), 37(11), respectively.

Macropterous male: Similar to female in both colouration and structure, but slightly smaller. Pore plates ( Fig. 35 ) with reticulate texture present on sternites VI–VIII: VI–VII with two anteroangular plates and two lateral plates posterior to discal setae, VIII with two anteroangular plates and a median transverse band posterior to discal setae.

Measurements (male paratype in microns): Length about 2113; head length 242, width behind eyes 192, po length 19, eye dorsal length 125; median length of pronotum 142, width across ep 250, am 26, aa 39, ml 42, ep 75, pa 47; width of mesonotum 272; fore wing length 820; tergite IX setae S1 110, S2 127, S3 125; tergite X length 172, basal width 74, apical width 40; length(width) of antennal segments III–VIII 80 (24), 65(25), 62(25), 62(22), 50(15), 30(9), respectively.

Material studied. Holotype female, Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Santana do Livramento, in Myrcia palustris, 5.ii.2013 (Cavalleri, A.), at UFRGS. Slide code UFRGS 3771 .

Paratypes: 9 males and 11 females collected with holotype, at UFRGS.

Etymology. Species named in reference of its striking bicoloured pattern.

Comments. Holopothrips bicolor is one of the species in the genus with a striking bicoloured body ( Fig. 32 ) and bears almost equiangular reticulation in the metanotum, without any internal markings ( Fig. 38 ), like the brown-coloured species H. claritibialis Cavalleri & Kaminski , H. hambletoni Hood and H. pennatus Moulton. It is also among the few species with multiple minute tubercles on the dorsolateral sculpture of head. This species shares with H. fulvus having postocular setae minute and head with large eyes and curved cheeks, but is readily distinghished by its fully brown head ( Fig. 33 ), brown abdominal segment VIII and male pore plates occurring on abdominal sternites VI–VIII ( Fig. 35 ). Holopothrips bicolor may be related to the other seven bicoloured species of the genus whose body is mostly yellow, being distinguished by having the head and abdominal segment VIII fully brown, postocular setae about as long as the diameter of an ocellus and female spermatheca enlarged. A male and a female were studied from leaves of Myrcia guianensis collected in the city of Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil, and are believed to belong to the same species.

Figures

FIGURES 32–38. Holopothrips bicolor sp. nov. holotype and paratypes. (32) body; (33) head and pronotum; (34) mesonotum; (35) pore plates on sternites VI–VIII; (36) pelta; (37) spermatheca; (38) metanotum, showing the anterior discal setae (black arrows).