Leptothrips macroocellatus Watson

Mound, Laurence & O’Donnell, Cheryle, 2017, Predation, phytophagy and character state confusion among North American species of the genus Leptothrips (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripinae), Zootaxa 4294 (3), pp. 301-315 : 310

Leptothrips macroocellatus Watson

Leptothrips aspersus macro -ocellatus Watson, 1913: 148. Leptothrips confusus Johansen, 1987: 89 . Syn. n.

The Code of Zoological Nomenclature (http://www.iczn.org/iczn/index.jsp) specifies that a hyphen should be deleted from any compound name, except where the first of the two names is a single letter. Watson described this species from an unspecified number of specimens taken from orange leaves at Gainesville, Florida, in January, 1913. Johansen (1987: 93) stated that he had designated a Lectotype of macroocellatus , but no such specimen has been found in either USNM or FSAC. The only slides found that bear original data are in FSAC, and these include two larvae and six adults, of which only one has an antenna. Based on these specimens, this species is interpreted as having sculpture lines on the pronotum posteriorly and laterally but not medially ( Fig. 21 ), and in having antennal segment IV with three sense cones. Moreover , the external margin of segment IV bears a small ancillary sense cone (= sensillum coeloconicum), although this is not always visible. The compound eyes are large, but the extent to which they are longer ventrally than dorsally depends on the orientation of the head on slide mounted specimens. Samples of this species have been studied (in ERMR) from Florida ( Orlando ) and South Carolina ( Colleton Cty ), also (in USNM) from Ft Garland ( Colorado ). However , a few unidentified specimens mentioned by Mound et al. (2016) that were collected from Jatropha curcas at Chiapas, Mexico can now be identified as this species, together with 50 specimens representing both sexes collected by Francisco Infante in March and April, 2014, at various sites in the Southern parts of Chiapas State. The species confusus was based on a single female from Homestead, Florida (in USNM), and placed in a key between mali and macroocellatus . This specimen was distinguished from macroocellatus because it has the eyes scarcely prolonged ventrally and the major setae rather shorter.

Figures

FIGURES 17 – 24. Leptothrips species of North America – pronotum. (17) maliaffinis holotype; (18) mali; (19) papago; (20) heliomanes; (21) macroocellatus; (22) fasciculatus; (23) pini; (24) purpuratus.