Liothrips burwelli Mound & Dang & Tree 2023, sp.n.
Creators: name: Mound, Laurence A.
name: Dang, Lihong
name: Tree, Desley J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Thysanoptera
Phlaeothripidae
Liothrips
Liothrips burwelli

description: Liothrips burwelli sp.n.
(Figs 1, 10, 19, 26, 30)
Macropterous female. Body and legs dark brown, except fore tibiae and tarsi brownish-yellow, mid and hind tarsi slightly paler; antennae yellowish brown, segment II yellow largely with brown base and margins, III almost clear yellow, IV–VIII increasingly from light brown to brown; major setae brown; fore wing brownish with brown area around sub-basal setae.
Head about 1.18 times longer than width just behind eyes, slightly narrowed to base (Fig. 1); ocellar region subconical, posterior ocelli close to inner margin of eyes; eyes more than one-third as long as head; postocular setae acute at apex, longer than eye length; maxillary stylets not retracted to postocular setae, medially about 0.3 of head width apart; mouth cone long and pointed. Antennae relatively short (Fig. 10), segment III 1.6 times as long as wide, III with one sense-cone, IV with three; IV–VI sharply constricted at basal neck; segment VIII shorter than VII, not constricted at base. Pronotum almost smooth, with five pairs of major acute setae, anteromarginals developed but shorter than anteroangulars, epimerals the longest, about as long as posteroangulars, a pair of accessory epimeral setae well-developed, slightly shorter than epimerals (Fig. 1). Ferna wide apart, mesopresternum narrowly boat-shaped, eroded medially (Fig. 26); metathoracic sternopleural sutures developed. Metanotum longitudinally reticulate medially (Fig. 19), median setae slender. Fore wing parallel sided, with 12 duplicated cilia, three sub-basal setae slightly blunt at apex. Pelta reticulate, broadly triangular, with pair of campaniform sensilla (Fig. 30); tergites II–VII with two pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae (Fig. 30); tergal lateral setae all acute; tergite IX setae S1 and S2 pointed at apex, longer than tube, S3 about as long as tube. Tube slightly shorter than head, anal setae shorter than tube.
Measurements (holotype female in microns): Body length 2650. Head, length (median width) 250 (210); postocular setae 120. Pronotum, length (median width) 165 (290); major setae—am 35, aa 55, ml 60, epim 150, accessory epim 100, pa 160. Fore wing length 1070; sub-basal setae 90, 85, 85. Tergite IX setae S1 235, S2 225. Tube, length 225; basal width 95; apical width 50. Antennal segments III–VIII, length (width) 75(35), 70(40), 60(35), 65(35), 55(30), 40(15).
Male macroptera. Similar to female, but smaller; pronotal accessorial epimeral setae minute on the right side; fore tarsal tooth absent; tergite IX setae S1 and S3 longer than tube, S2 less than half of S 1 in length, with apex acute; sternite VIII anteromedially with small, irregular and poorly defined pore plate, or with no pore plate visible.
Measurements (paratype male in microns):Body length 2300. Head, length (median width) 240 (180); postocular setae 100. Pronotum, length (median width) 150 (260); major setae—am 15, aa 35, ml 45, epim 145, accessory epim 55, pa broken. Fore wing length 920; sub-basal setae 60, 75, 75. Tergite IX setae S1 200, S2 70. Tube, length 200, basal width 75, apical width 40. Antennal segments III–VIII, length (width) 65(30), 55(35), 55(30), 50(30), 50(25), 30(15).
Specimens studied. Holotype female, AUSTRALIA, Queensland, Brisbane, Moggill Creek, from Mallotus philippinensis leaves [Euphorbiaceae], 23.viii.1998 (CJ Burwell), in ANIC.
Paratypes: 6 females, 3 males taken with holotype; Queensland, Mt Tamborine, 16 females, 3 males from Mallotus philippinensis leaves (with larvae), 21.iii.1968 (LA Mound 579), in ANIC. Brisbane, The Gap, 20 females, 2 males from leaf galls on Mallotus sp., 28.ii.2013; Brisbane, Ashgrove, 5 females, 6 males from Mallotus philippinensis leaf galls, 10.viii.2014, in QDPC.
Comments. This species is similar to umbratus Hood, but that has the tube slightly longer than the head, antennal segments V–VI less sharply constricted at the base, and the pelta less broadly triangular. Moreover, the tarsi are brownish-yellow in burwelli whereas in umbratus they are clear yellow, the metanotal sculpture differs between these species, and burwelli is particularly unusual in having two pairs of epimeral setae (Fig. 1).
description: Published as part of Mound, Laurence A., Dang, Lihong & Tree, Desley J., 2023, The genus Liothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae) in Australia, pp. 201-214 in Zootaxa 5306 (2) on pages 205-206, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5306.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/8058695