Helionothrips phragmitesi, Xie & Li & Zhang, 2022

Xie, Yanlan, Li, Yajin & Zhang, Hongrui, 2022, The genus Helionothrips (Thysanoptera, Panchaetothripinae) in China, with two new species and an identification key, Zootaxa 5194 (3), pp. 392-402 : 399-400

Helionothrips phragmitesi sp.n.

( Figs 5 , 10 , 22 , 38–42 )

Female macroptera. Body color dark brown, head entirely dark; fore femora brown, tibiae yellowish brown; mid and hind legs dark brown, with small extreme apex of tibiae yellow ( Fig. 38 ); all tarsi yellow; antennal segments I–II dark brown, III–V and basal half of VI yellow, apical half of VI and VII–VIII light brown ( Fig. 10 ); fore wing ( Fig. 5 ) brown, base and apex darkest, with a sub-basal white band, weakly shaded between anterior and posterior margin at distal half; clavus dark brown.

Head about 1.4–1.5 times as wide as long, completely sculptured; ocellar hump reticulate obvious with internal wrinkles ( Fig. 39 ); ocelli large; anterior and posterior carina of occipital collar almost parallel, the posteromedian reticles of collar with many thicken dots inside. Antennae 8-segmented, general stout; forked sense cones on III extending to basal third of IV, on IV not surpassing midline of V ( Fig. 10 ); simple dorsal sense cone on VI scarcely beyond apex of VIII, microtrichia present on ventral surface of segments IV–VI. Mouth cone rounded apically; maxillary palps 2–segmented.

Pronotum entirely covered by polygonal reticles of a rather uniform size, discal setae moderately long; most median and posterior reticles with wrinkles inside ( Fig. 22 ); mesoscutum with weak wrinkles in median reticles; metascutal triangle lacking wrinkles ( Fig. 40 ), median setae outer and anterior to the CPS; metascutellum about 2.5 times as wide as long. Fore wing ( Fig. 5 ) first vein with 6–7 basal and 2 distal setae, second vein with about 7 setae, posteromarginal cilia distinctive wavy; clavus with 4 veinal setae.

Abdominal tergites I and II completely reticulate ( Fig. 41 ); tergites III–VIII with heavy antecostal line divided into arches connected by a fine line, entirely covered with polygonal reticles except for posterior median unsculptured areas; II–VII lateral fourth with wrinkles in reticles ( Fig. 41 ); VIII with comb of microtrichia narrowly interrupted medially by lacking about 4–5 teeth ( Fig. 42 ); three pairs of needle-like setae on apex of tergite IX, S2 the longest, S1 and S3 almost subequal in length; Abdominal segment X short and small, less than half the length of IX; X with median split complete. Sternites entirely polygonally reticulate posterior of antecostal line, with three pairs of long posterior margin setae.

Measurements (holotype female in microns): Body length 1562. Head, length 129; width across genae 183. Eye, length 73; width 48. Pronotum, length 154; width 223. Fore wing length 900. Abdominal segments VIII–X median length 101, 118, 55. Antennal segments I–VIII length (width): 23(21), 38(30), 53(22), 44(22), 40(20), 29(17), 9(8), 27(4).

Male unknown.

Specimens studied. Holotype female, CHINA, Chongqing City , Xiushan County, from leaves of Phragmites communis , 22.v.2017 (Li Yajin & Liu Hui), in collection of Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming.

Paratypes: 19 females collected from same locality and plant as holotype, with 2 females deposited in Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra.

Etymology. In reference to the host plant of this species.

Comments. This new species is distinguished from other Helionothrips species by the reticles on the posterior half of the pronotum having internal wrinkles, the forked antennal sense cone on IV not surpassing mid-point of V, antennal segments I & II dark brown while VI light brown with basal half yellow, also mid and hind tibiae with a small yellow area at apex. This new species is most similar to communis , ponkikiri and unitatis in having the posterior half of the pronotum with reticles bearing internal wrinkles. However, in communis , ponkikiri and unitatis , the forked sense cone on antennal segment IV at least extends to the apex of V, and segment VI as brown as I & II ( ponkikiri and unitatis ) or darker than I & II ( communis ). Moreover, in this new species, wrinkles are present in the mesoscutum reticles but not in the metascutum reticles. In contrast, both the meso- and metascutal reticles have internal wrinkles in communis and unitatis versus both lacking in ponkikiri .

Figures

FIGURES 1–9. Fore wing of Helionothrips species, female. (1) H. shennongjiaensis; (2) H. brunneipennis; (3) H. annosus; (4) H. aino; (5) H. phragmitesi sp. n.; (6) H. cephalicus; (7) H. rugatus; (8) H. pallidus sp. n.; (9) H. parvus.

FIGURES 10–19.Antennae of Helionothrips species, female. (10) H. phragmitesi sp. n.; (11) H. annosus; (12) H. rugatus; (13) H. pallidus sp. n.; (14) H. parvus; (15) H. cephalicus; (16) H. aino (segment IV sense cone extends only to the middle of VI); (17) H. aino (segment IV sense cone surpasses the apex of VII); (18) H. shennongjiaensis; (19) H. brunneipennis.

FIGURES 20–24. Pronotum of Helionothrips species, female. (20) H. pallidus sp. n.; (21) H. cephalicus; (22) H. phragmitesi sp. n.; (23) H. shennongjiaensis; (24) H. parvus.

FIGURES 31–42. Helionothrips species. H. pallidus sp. n. (31–37): (31) Female; (32) Male; (33) Meso- and metanotum, female; (34) Abdominal sternites V–VIII, male; (35) Head, female; (36) Abdominal tergites IX–X, male; (37) Abdominal tergites VIII–X, female. H. phragmitesi sp. n. (38–42): (38) Female; (39) Head, female; (40) Meso- and metanota, female; (41) Abdominal tergites I–III, female; (42) Abdominal tergites VIII–X, female.