Heterothrips peixotoa Del-Claro, Marullo & Mound, 1997: 1309.

Original reference: Del-Claro K, Marullo R & Mound LA (1997) A new Brazilian species of Heterothrips (Insecta, Thysanoptera), coexisting with ants in the flowers of Peixotoa tomentosa (Malpighiaceae). Journal of Natural History 31: 1307–1312.

Family

Heterothripidae

Nomenclatural information

http://thrips.info/wiki/Heterothrips_peixotoa

Diagnosis

Body brown; fore tibiae mainly yellow, mid and hind tibiae yellow with a median brown area, all tarsi yellow; antennal segments I–II & V–IX brown, III mainly yellow but darker in distal third, IV yellow but brown in distal half and slightly darker at extreme base. Fore wing pale, with a brown fleck on costal margin near base, and extreme apex shaded brown. Head wider than long, with no long setae; ocellar setae I absent. Antennae 9-segmented; segments III & IV each with two transverse rows of sensorial pores at apex. Pronotum with transverse weak reticulation and with no long setae. Mesonotum striate; metanotum with concentric lines of sculpture, not forming a triangle and covered with microtrichia. Abdominal tergites I–V with posteromarginal comb of independent microtrichia laterally, II–V with a few marginal microtrichia medially; VI–VIII with complete marginal comb; II–VII with regular transverse rows of microtrichia laterally. Sternites II–VI without discal setae; posterior margins with long microtrichial fringe.

Male smaller; sternites VII–VIII each with a large transverse pore plate at antecostal ridge.

Intraspecific variation

Not recorded.

Genus and similar species information

Heterothrips Hood is the largest genus in the family Heterothripidae, currently comprising more than 70 species. It is restricted to the Americas and two informal groups were proposed by Moulton (1932). Species placed in “group I” bear a posteromarginal fringe of independent microtrichia on the abdominal tergites, whereas species in “group II” have microtrichia that arise on the posterior margin of the tergites from a well-developed craspedum. Antennal segments III & IV each bears apically a circumpolar sensorium with one or more rows of pores. H. peixotoa seems to be related to H. albipennis as both have the fore wings largely pale and lack ocellar setae I on the head. However, H. albipennis bears only one row of sensorial pores on antennal segments III & IV, whereas H. peixotoa has two rows of such pores. A key to Heterothrips species recorded from Brazil is given by Pereyra & Cavalleri (2012).

World distribution

Known only from Brazil.

Distribution in Brazil

http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/fauna/faunadobrasil/42606 

Life history

Flower-feeding species commonly collected from flowers of many Malpighiaceae species. Apparently breeding in Banisteriopsis and Peixotoa shrubs in Brazilian Savannah.

Economic importance

Not recorded.

References suggested

Del-Claro K, Marullo R & Mound LA (1997) A new Brazilian species of Heterothrips (Insecta, Thysanoptera), coexisting with ants in the flowers of Peixotoa tomentosa (Malpighiaceae). Journal of Natural History 31: 1307–1312.

Moulton D (1932) The Thysanoptera of South America I. Revista de Entomologia 2: 451–484.

Pereyra V & Cavalleri A (2012) The genus Heterothrips (Thysanoptera) in Brazil, with an identification key and seven new species. Zootaxa 3237: 1–23.