Holopothrips claritibialis Cavalleri & Kaminski, 2007: 63. 

Original reference: Cavalleri A, Kaminski LA (2007) A new Holopothrips species (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) damaging Mollinedia (Monimiaceae) leaves in Southern Brazil. Zootaxa 1625: 61-68. doi: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1625.1.5 

Family

Phlaeothripidae, Phlaeothripinae

Nomenclatural information 

http://thrips.info/wiki/Holopothrips_claritibialis 

Diagnosis

Body mainly brown, with apex of tube paler, all tibiae and tarsi yellow; antennomere I concolorous with head, II brown with a paler apex, III–VIII yellow; fore wings clear. Head about 1.5-1.7x longer than wide, dorsal surface with transverse lines of sculpture; postocular setae slightly shorter than the length of an eye, with capitate apex; maxillary stylets parallel and about 1/4 of the head width apart; mouth cone rounded. Antennae 8-segmented, III–IV with three sense cones each. Pronotum weakly reticulated, notopleural sutures incomplete; anteromarginal setae reduced to the size of discal setae; the other major pronotal setae are well developed and capitate, 1 pair of setae on epimeral region. Prosternum without basantra, but with a pair of chitinous islets anterior to ferna. Mesonotum reticulated and without internal markings. Metanotum with 3 pairs of anterior discal setae and one median major pair; sculpture formed by longitudinally elongate reticles anteriorly and equiangular reticles posteriorly, sometimes with internal markings. Fore wings with about 5–13 duplicated cilia. Pelta triangular, with anterior tip straight and basal angles slightly projected; equiangular reticulation medially, without internal markings. Abdominal tergites II–VII with three pairs of wing-retaining setae. Both sexes macropterous.

Females bear a robust spermatheca. Males are slightly smaller, with punctuate pore plates on sternites VII–VIII: two anteroangular plates and one median transverse band.

Intraspecific variation

The male pore plates are variable, and can show interruptions, have small extra plates, or even links between the anterior plates and the posterior plate.

Genus and similar species information

Holopothrips is a genus with about 60 known species, distributed almost exclusively in the Neotropics. Several species in this genus are associated with plant galls, as inducers or invaders, in plants of many families. Most Holopothrips species bear three pairs of wing-retaining setae on tergites II–VII, males have complex pore plates and frequently in other sternites besides VIII, and the female spermatheca is visible. About 40 species in this genus have been described or recorded from Brazil. Holopothrips claritibialis has a metanotum with fully reticulated sculpture, which is seen in only a few species within the genus, such as H. ananasi, H. hambletoni, H pennatus and H. punctatus. It is distinguished from the other species by the unique coloration in the legs (brown femora, yellow tibiae and tarsi) and for having a pair of small chitinous islets on prosternum, anterior to ferna. A key to the species of Holopothrips is available in Lindner et al. 2018. 

Distribution around the world

Described from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Distribution in Brazil

http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/fauna/faunadobrasil/73217

Life history

Induces leaf galls on Mollinedia schottiana and M. elegans. 

Economic importance

Recorded damaging Mollinedia schottiana leaves. 

Suggested references
Cavalleri A, Kaminski LA (2007) A new Holopothrips species (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) damaging Mollinedia (Monimiaceae) leaves in Southern Brazil. Zootaxa 1625: 61-68. doi: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1625.1.5 

Lindner MF, Ferrari A, Mound LA, Cavalleri A (2018) Holopothrips diversity—a Neotropical genus of gall-inducing insects (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae). Zootaxa 4494(1): 001–099.