Glyptothrips saltuarius (Hood, 1957: 165). 

Original reference: Hood JD (1957) New Brazilian Thysanoptera. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 70: 129–180. 

Family

Phlaeothripidae, Phlaeothripinae

Nomenclatural information 

http://thrips.info/wiki/Glyptothrips_saltuarius 

Diagnosis

Female macropterous; body color mostly yellow, with thorax and tube brown; antennomeres I–III yellow, IV yellow with apical half shaded with brown, V–VIII brown with yellow base; wings yellowish to pale brown, without a dark median line. Antennae 8-segmented, basal antennomeres with stout and capitate setae; III with 3 and IV with 4 sense cones. Head strongly reticulated, about 1.5 times as long as the greatest width; postocular setae much shorter than the length of the eye; lateral margins straight and constricted behind globose eyes; maxillary stylets wide apart. Pronotum reticulated, with 4 pairs of well-developed and capitate setae, anteromarginal pair reduced or absent; prosternal basantra present. Meso- and metanotum strongly reticulated. Pterothorax with a pair of stout and capitate ventrolateral setae on each segment. Pelta trapezoidal and reticulated; abdomen strongly sculptured, tergites II–VII with 2 pairs of wing-retaining setae. Tube cone-shaped, weakly reticulated only at base and without lateral setae, about 2.8x as long as basal width. All legs similar in appearance, tibiae without tubercles, fore tarsi with a tooth. Fore wings without duplicated cilia.

Male macropterous. Similar to female, except for having setae S2 of abdominal tergite IX shorter. Pore plate present on abdominal sternite VIII, covering most of it.

Intraspecific variation

Macropterous and micropterous forms are known for this species. Micropterous specimens may show differences in colouration, shape of pelta, reduction or absence of ocelli and wing-retaining setae, among others.

Genus and similar species information

Glyptothrips is a genus with 14 valid species, with an apparently disjunct distribution between North and South America. The members of this genus have a strongly sculptured body, but tube usually smooth; head incut behind small, globose but well-developed eyes; postocular and main pronotal setae (except anteromarginal pair) well-developed and with capitate apex; and most species bear strong and capitate setae on basal antennomeres and/or ventrolateral region of pterothorax. Glyptothrips saltuarius  is one of three species in the genus with an elongated head (about 1.5x as long as the greatest width), together with G. divergens and G. longiceps; it is distinguished from those by the tip of setae S2 on abdominal tergite IX in females: dilated in G. saltuarius but acute to blunt in the other two species. A key to the Brazilian Glyptothrips species is available in Lindner et al. (2023).

Distribution around the world

Described from Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Distribution in Brazil

http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/fauna/faunadobrasil/36056

Life history

Lives in leaf-litter, where it possibly feeds on fungal hyphae.

Economic importance

Not recorded.

Suggested references

Hood JD (1957) New Brazilian Thysanoptera. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 70: 129–180. 

Mound LA (1977) Species diversity and the systematics of some New World leaf-litter Thysanoptera (Phlaeothripinae; Glyptothripini). Systematic Entomology 2: 225-244. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.1977.tb00371.x 

Lindner MF, Ferrari A, Lima EFB & Cavalleri A (2023) Morphological identification of Glyptothrips species (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae). Zootaxa 5375 (1): 031–057. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5375.1.2