Holopothrips maiae Lindner, Ferrari, Mound & Cavalleri, 2018: 63.

Original reference: 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.

Family

Phlaeothripidae, Phlaeothripinae

Nomenclatural information

https://thrips.info/wiki/Holopothrips_maiae

Diagnosis

Body brown, fore tibiae lighter and all tarsi yellow; antennomere I concolorous with head, II brown on basal half and yellow apically, III yellow weakly shaded on apical half, IV light brown with yellow base, V–VIII brown; fore wings pale; major body setae yellow. Head about 1.1 times longer than width behind eyes, dorsal surface with weak transverse lines of sculpture; postocular setae as long as the width of a compound eye, with capitate apexes; maxillary stylets intermediate between parallel and V-shaped, about 1/3 of head width apart; mouth cone pointed. Antenna 8-segmented, III–IV with 3 elongated sense cones each. Pronotum weakly sculptured posteriorly, notopleural sutures incomplete and short; 5 pairs of major pronotal setae, one pair on epimeral region; anteromarginal setae reduced, remaining major pronotal setae well developed and with dilated tips. Mesonotum sculpture formed by irregular reticles medially, elongate reticles or transverse lines laterally, without internal markings. Metanotum with 1–2 pairs of anterior discal setae and 1 median major pair; sculpture formed by short longitudinal lines, enclosing few elongate reticles medially, these with faint internal markings. Fore tarsal hamus short. Fore wings with about 9–12 duplicated cilia. Pelta triangular with well-defined straight margins, one pair of campaniform sensilla present; sculpture formed by elongate to irregular reticles, without internal markings. Abdominal tergites with irregular reticulation, III–VII with three pairs of wing-retaining setae. Both sexes macropterous.

Females bear an S-shaped spermatheca. Males are slightly smaller, with reticulate pore plates on sternites VII–VIII: two anteroangular plates and a transverse median band, this median plate interrupted medially on sternite VII.

Intraspecific variation

Not recorded.

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 to 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 maiae shares some characters with species like H. erianthi, H. kaminskii or H. spermathecus, but can be differentiated from them for the position of maxillary stylets, triangular pelta with straight margins, abdominal tergite II without the third pair of wing-retaining setae, and the appearance of male pore plates and female spermatheca.

World distribution

Brazil.

Distribution in Brazil

http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/fauna/faunadobrasil/197502 

Life history

This species was collected from lateral gem galls in an unidentified species of Marlierea (Myrtaceae).

Economic importance

Not recorded.

References suggested

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.