Hydatothrips tricinctus (Hood, 1928: 231).

Original reference: Hood JD (1928) New neotropical Thysanoptera collected by C.B. Williams II. Psyche 34: 230–246.

Family

Thripidae, Sericothripinae

Nomenclatural information

http://thrips.info/wiki/Hydatothrips_tricinctus

Diagnosis 

Body sharply bicoloured, mainly yellow with anterior half of the head, pterothorax and abdominal segments II–III & VII dark brown; abdominal segments VIII–X yellowish brown; tarsi and tibiae extensively yellow; antennal segments I–III yellow and IV–VIII brown; fore wing mainly brown, with a sub-basal and apical pale band. Head with several transversal lines of sculpture and with an occipital apodeme close to posterior margin of eyes; three pairs of ocellar setae. Antennae 8-segmented, III & IV with forked sense cones. Pronotum broadly reticulate on anterior half and laterally, but with dark pronotal blotch bearing closely spaced transverse lines; one pair of posteroangular setae developed; reticles with internal markings.Mesothoracic endofurca with long spinula; metathoracic endofurca spinula not developed. Metanotum with transverse lines of reticulation anteriorly and longitudinal lines posteromedially; paired campaniform sensilla absent; two pairs of long setae close to anterior margin. Metasternum with a deeply V-shaped apodeme. Tarsi 2-segmented. Fore wing with first setal row essentially complete and second vein with few sparse setae. Abdominal tergites I–VIII covered with microtrichia arranged in closely spaced rows; II–VIII with a pair of long and close together median setae; VIII with long posteromarginal comb of microtrichia. Sternites covered with microtrichia, including medially; three pairs of long posteromarginal setae. Both sexes fully winged.

Male with sternites III–VII with large and transverse pore plates.

Intraspecific variation

Posteroangular setae on pronotum sometimes small or curved, impossible to be correctly measured.

Genus and similar species information

About 40 species are included in Hydatothrips, most of them bicoloured and with banded fore wings. This group is closely related to Neohydatothrips and can be distinguished by the presence of a deeply V-shaped apodeme on metasternum. Hydatothrips tricinctus is characteristic in having fore wing with two pale areas and the yellow pronotum. A key to Hydatothrips species from Neotropics is provided by Lima & Mound (2016a).

World distribution

Described from Caribbean Islands, it is also recorded from Brazil.

Distribution in Brazil

http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/fauna/faunadobrasil/74763 

Life history

Unknown; possibly breeding on leaves. In Brazil, adults were collected on grasses, soybeans and Solanum.

Economic importance

Not recorded.

References suggested

Lima EFB & Mound LA (2016a). Species-richness in Neotropical Sericothripinae (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Zootaxa 4162(1): 1–45.

Lima EFB & Mound LA (2016b). Systematic relationships of the Thripidae subfamily Sericothripinae (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Zoologischer Anzeiger 263: 24–32.

Mound LA & Marullo R (1996) The Thrips of Central and South America: An Introduction. Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–488.

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2009) Identification and host-plant associations of Australian Sericothripinae (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) Zootaxa 1983: 1–22.

Nakahara N (1988) Generic assignments of North American species currently assigned to the genus Sericothrips Haliday (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 90: 480–483.