Bathrips melanicornis (Shumsher)

Mirab-Balou, Majid, Yang, Shu-Lan & Tong, Xiao-Li, 2012, Bathrips in China (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), with a new record and new synonym, Zootaxa 3571, pp. 87-88 : 87-88

Bathrips melanicornis (Shumsher)

Taeniothrips melanicornis Shumsher, 1946: 179 .

Taeniothrips ipomoeae Zhang, 1981: 324 syn.n.

Bathrips ipomoeae ( Zhang); Zhang & Tong, 1993 (p. 419 footnote by Bhatti)

Female. Female macroptera. Body yellow with extensive light brown markings—in ocellar triangle, sub-medially on pronotum and metanotum, medially on tergites II–VIII; antennae dark brown; legs yellow to yellowish brown; fore wings brown; body setae dark. Antennae 8-segmented; antennal segment I without paired dorso-apical setae; segments III & IV each with forked sense cone; III–VI covered with rows of microtrichia dorsally and ventrally. Head wider than long, with 2 pairs of ocellar setae, pair III long and situated between posterior ocelli; postocular setae all small. Maxillary palp 3-segmented. Pronotum with 2 pairs of long posteroangular setae, and 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae. Mesonotum without pair of anteromarginal campaniform sensilla. Metanotum weakly reticulate medially, median setae not at anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Mesofurca with spinula, metafurca without spinula. Fore wing first vein with 3 setae on distal half, second vein with 4 setae. Abdominal tergites with sculpture area before setae pair S2, smooth medially; tergite VIII without posteromarginal comb; IX without anterior pair of CPS; tergite X without dorsal split. Abdominal sternites with 3 pairs of marginal setae, median setae on VII in front of margin.

Male. Male macroptera. Similar to female but smaller, antennal segments I & II yellow; abdominal tergite IX with 2 stout thorn-like setae medially; abdominal sternite VII with very small pore plate medially.

Five males of this species were examined by L.A. Mound. He informed us of the following variation in the pore plate on sternite VII: neatly oval in one male from Kuala Lumpur, also one from Chiang Mai, Thailand; irregularly oval in one from Bali; from Queensland, Australia, one male with an oval pore plate, but a second with no pore plate.

Specimens examined: CHINA: Guangdong Province: holotype female and paratype male of ipomoeae, Guangzhou, Shipai , from Ipomoea batatas , 30.x.1974, Zhang Wei-qiu. Paratypes of ipomoeae: Boluo, Huizhou , 2 female, 1 male from I. batatas , 12.x.1975,same locality, 1 female from Calopogonium mucunoides , 2.x.1975; Hainan Province, Lingshui, 1 female from I. batatas , 9.iii.1975. Further material: Guangdong Province: Shipai, Guangzhou, 10 females from I. batatas , 30.x.1974; Boluo, Huizhou, 2 males from I. batatas , 30.x.1976; Guangzhou, South China Agricultural University campus, 9 females from I. batatas , 29.xii.2009. Fujian Province: Quanzhou, 4 females from I. batatas , 31.vii.2009.

Distribution. China (Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Taiwan); India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Java, Bali, Thailand, East Timor, Australia (Queensland).

Remarks. Described originally from Burma (Mandalay) this species is widespread across the Oriental Region. We compared from Guangdong and Fujian with the type specimens of ipomoeae and found no any distinction between them.