Body uniformly brown, including legs; antennal segments brown, except for III which is paler; fore wings shaded brown. Head with three pairs of ocellar setae, pair III close together between posterior ocelli. Antennae 8-segmented, III & IV with forked sense cones. Pronotum without sculpture and with two pairs of long posteroangular setae. Mesothoracic spinula present, metathoracic spinula not developed. Metanotum with few irregular lines of reticulation posteromedially; paired campaniform sensilla present; two pairs of setae, median pair arising at anterior margin. Tarsi 2-segmented. Fore wing with first vein with few setae and second vein almost complete. Abdominal tergites I–VII without craspeda or microtrichial fields; tergites with a pair of short and wide apart setae medially; posterior margin of VIII with an incomplete comb of long microtrichia, with only few lateral teeth. Sternites without craspeda or discal setae; three pairs of posteromarginal setae. Both sexes fully winged.
Male with many small circular pore plates on abdominal sternites.
Intraspecific variation
Described from two females and one male, it is possible that the two females represent different species. Specimens identified as this species have been studied from South Brazil. However, this material requires further examination.
Genus and similar species information
This genus includes five species, all of them described from New World. Mound & Nickle (2009) recognize this group as independent taxa from the Old-World Ceratothripoides genus, which is possible closely related. All Retanathrips members lack posteromarginal comb of microtrichia on tergite VII, at least medially, and the ocellar setae pair I arranged transversely on head. Retanathrips lagoenacollus is the only species of this genus recorded from Brazil.
Phytophagous, possibly breeding on leaves. Specimens identified as this species were collected breeding on Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Verbenaceae) in Rio Grande do Sul (Pinent et al. 2005).
Economic importance
Not recorded.
References suggested
Mound LA & Marullo R (1996) The Thrips of Central and South America: An Introduction. Memoirs on Entomology, International 6: 1–488.
Mound LA & A Nickle D (2009) The Old-World Genus Ceratothripoides (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) With A New Genus For Related New-World Species. Zootaxa 2230: 57-63.
Pinent SMJ, Romanowski HP, Redaelli LR & Cavalleri A (2005) Thysanoptera: plantas visitadas e hospedeiras no Parque Estadual de Itapuã, Viamão, RS, Brasil. Iheringia. Série Zoologia 95: 9–16.
Published in: 30/07/2017 Posted by: Mariana Lindner
