Stephanothrips broomei, Mound & Tree, 2018

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2018, Fungus-feeding thrips of the genus Stephanothrips in Australia (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae), Zootaxa 4442 (1), pp. 181-186 : 182-183

Stephanothrips broomei sp. n.

( Figs 2, 7 , 12 )

Female aptera. Strikingly bicoloured ( Fig. 2 ); dark brown on pronotum anterior margin, tergite I and lateral thirds of II; meso and metathorax, and posterior half of pronotum white; head light brown laterally posterior to eyes but paler on anterior third; tergites III–VIII pale medially but with brown areas laterally; tube yellow; fore and mid legs almost white, hind legs including coxae dark brown; antennae pale, terminal two segments shaded brown. Head slightly longer than wide, constricted at base ( Fig. 2 ); vertex with many small tubercles; compound eyes with only 3 facets, all large and on the dorsal surface; anterior margin with 2 pairs of prominent setae with bluntly capitate apices; maxillary stylets retracted to eyes, parallel medially and about one third of head width apart. Antennal segments III–V fused with only faint sutures ( Fig. 7 ), VII–VIII completely fused. Pronotum weakly sculptured, epimeral setae prominent with broadly expanded apices. Meso- and metanota apparently fused, weakly sculptured, and fused to strongly sculptured tergite I ( Fig. 12 ); tergites I–II separated by weak incomplete suture, II–III with transverse row of about 20 small setae; tergite X with 3 pairs of long terminal setae, dorsal pair two-thirds as long as lateral pairs.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 1450. Head, length 160; width 140; anteromarginal setae, inner 40, outer 25. Pronotum, length 95; width 175; epimeral setae 25. Tergites VIII, IX & X lengths 45, 150, 310; lateral anal setae 800. Antennal segments length 100 [III+IV+V]; 30 [VI]; 50 [VII+VIII].

Male aptera. Smaller and paler than female, but otherwise very similar.

Material studied. Holotype female, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, Broome, Willie Creek, from Acacia stems, 2.iii.2005 ( LAM 4670), in ANIC.

Paratypes: 1 female, 1 male taken with holotype.

Comments. The holotype and paratypes are mounted on a single slide, and the holotype is the female specimen that has the anal setae fully extended. The extensive fusion of the meso- and metanota with the first abdominal tergite is a condition shared with several other species in this genus ( Okajima 2006). However, broomei is distinguished by its remarkable colour pattern, the long slender fused antennal segments III–V, and the presence of two pairs of major setae on the anterior margin of the head.

Figures

FIGURES 1–10. Stephanothrips from Australia. Head & pronotum 1–5: (1) occidentalis; (2) broomei; (3) howei; (4) ferrari; (5) barretti. Antenna 6–8: (6) barretti; (7) broomei; (8) howei. Prosternites 9–10: (9) barretti; (10) howei.

FIGURES 11–15. Stephanothrips from Australia, metanotum & tergites I–II. (11) barretti; (12) broomei; (13) ferrari; (14) howei; (15) occidentalis.