A New Species of Genus Meglurothrips Bagnall, 1915 (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) from Hainan Island of China

Qingling Hu1,2,3,* and Jinian Feng3

1College of Chemistry and Environment, Weinan Normal University, Weinan, Shaanxi 714099, China

2Key Laboratory for Ecology and Environment of River Wetlands in Shaanxi Province, Weinan, Shaanxi 714099, China

3Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources and Pest Management of the Ministry of Education, Entomological Museum, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a new species Megalurothrips longus sp.n. from Hainan Island of China is described and illustrated. This new species is unique in this genus by the combinations of having 5 pairs of long setae on pronotum, the ultrashort chapped craspedum on posterior margin of abdominal tergites, and the shape and relative locations of setae on tergite IX.

Article Information

Received 19 June 2018

Revised 23 August 2018

Accepted 04 September 2018

Available online 11 January 2019

Authors’ Contributions

QH conducted the research and wrote the manuscript. JF revised the manuscript and finalized it.

Key words

Thripinae, Megalurothrips, New species, Hainan Island, China.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjz/2019.51.1.SC7

* Corresponding author: qlhu@nwsuaf.edu.cn

0030-9923/2019/0001-0379 $ 9.00/0

Copyright 2019 Zoological Society of Pakistan

The genus Megalurothrips was erected by Bagnall (1915) with M. typicus as its type species. It is a member of the Megalurothrips genus-group with the following characters in common: Antennae 8-segmented, ocellar setae pair I present, median metanotal setae at anterior margin, metanotal spinula absent, abdominal tergite VIII with posteromarginal comb usually interrupted, sternal discal setae absent (Mound and Palmer, 1981). In light of this, M. grisbrunneus was transferred to Taeniothrips as T. grisbrunneus (Mirab-Balou et al., 2014).

Species in Megalurothrips all bread in the flowers of Fabaceae and some are pests of cultivated legumes (Masumoto, 2010). They are a kind of sucking insect pests (Nazir et al., 2017). Up to now, Megalurothrips includes 13 species (Thrips Wiki, 2018). Of these, 10 were reported from China, and M. grisbrunneus Feng, Chou and Li was transferred to Taeinothrips (Mirab-Balou et al., 2011, 2014). Key to species from China is available for identification of male and female (Han, 1997). The objective of this paper is to describe and illustrate another species from Hainan Island. Type specimens of the new species are deposited in the Entomological Museum of Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.

Materials and methods

Thrips specimens examined in this study were mounted onto slides followed Zhang et al. (2006). All measurements described in this paper are in micrometers (μm). Specimens were observed with an EVOS digital inverted microscope. Photographs were made using a Nikon Y-IDT microscope with a Q-image CCD. Images were produced using the software Synoptic Automontage.

Megalurothrips longus, new species

(Fig. 1)

Male macroptera

Body uniformly brown, length 1.3-1.4 mm (Fig. 1A). Antennal segments III, VII and VIII, base of IV and V, and all tibiae and tarsi pale brown. Fore wing banded, with basal and sub-apical paler (Fig. 1G).

Head

Head wider than long, with transverse striations posteriorly. 3 pairs of ocellar setae present, pair III is the longest, just inside of the ocellar triangle (Fig. 1B). Antennae 8-segmented, segments III and IV with two margins parallel to each other, sense cones forked (Fig. 1F). Maxillary palpi 3-segmented.

Thorax

Pronotum wider than long, nearly smooth, with 5 pairs of long setae other than the anteroanglular setae. 4 pairs of posteriormarginal setae present (the median long setae included) (Fig. 1E). Mesonotum sculptured with transverse striae, median pair of setae situated on the posterior margin; metanotum sculptured with longitudinal line laterally, median part with inversus U shaped striae. Median pair of metanotal setae nearly on the anterior margin, one pair of campaniform sensilla at the postmedian part (Fig. 1D); mesofurcal spinula present, metafurca without spinula (Fig. 1C). Fore vein with a short subapical gap followed by 2 distal setae, hind vein complete row of setae (Fig. 1G). Ferna undivided in the middle, prospinasternum complete (Fig. 1C).

Abdomen

Abdominal tergites with ultrashort chapped craspedum on the posterior margin. Tergites sculptured with transverse striae except the area between median setae on tergies II (Fig. 1K). Median setae on tergites anteromedial to campaniform sensilla (Fig. 1I). Tergite II with 3 setae arrayed in a longitudinal row laterally (Fig. 1J). Abdominal sternites without discal setae, sternite with exceptional long posterior marginal setae (Fig. 1H), sternite II with 2 pairs while sternites III-VII with 3 pairs. Median setae of sternite VII on posterior margin (Fig. 1H). Tergite IX with S1 (median setae) and S3 thorn-like (Fig. 1L).

Female

Unknown.

Measurements

Holotype in micros: Total body length 1348.03; head length 100.63, width 123.39. Length (width) of antennal segment: I 27.98 (29.16), II 39.88 (24.90), III 56.44 (14.45), IV 59.96 (14.35), V 36.29 (15.21), VI 66.87 (18.01), VII 8.77 (6.75), VIII 13.92 (5.37). Pronotum length 142.17, median width 186.52; posteromarginals, inner 40.52; posteroangulars, inner 60.32, outer 56.88; Median setae on metanotum length 49.19. Fore wing length 710.97, width 36.62 at middle, hind wing length 612.64, width 24.52 at middle.

Etymology

The specific epithet derived from the Latin term ‘longus’ which means ‘long’, which refers to the long setae on pronotum other than the posteroangular setae.

Type specimens

Holotype male macroptera, China: Jianfeng Town, Hainan Province, 170m, 18.vii.2009, Qingling Hu sweeping from grass; paratypes: 10 males, same data as holotype.

Remarks

This new species is unique in this genus by having 5 pairs of long setae on pronotum and the ultrashort chapped craspedum on posterior margin of abdominal tergites. It can be easily distinguished from other male known species (M. usitatus, M. mucunae, M. distalis, and M. peculiaris) by the presence of 2 pairs of thorn-like setae (S1 and S3) on tergite IX (Fig. 1L) (vs. only 2 pairs of long setae and 1 pair of thorn-like setae (S3) on tergite IX). This species can be distinguished from male known species M. typicus by the combinations of the unique long setae on pronotum, ultrashort chapped craspedum on Losterior margin of abdominal tergites and the relative locations of the setae on tergite IX.

Acknowledgements

The project was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (30570205), the Young Talent Support Program from the Association for Science and Technology of Colleges in Shaanxi Province (20160235), the Special Foundation for Young Scientists of Weinan Normal University in 2018 (18ZRRC11), and the Research Project of the Shaanxi Education Department (17JS040).

Statement of conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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