Identification and host associations of some Thysanoptera Phlaeothripinae described from Australia pre- 1930
Author
Mound, Laurence A.
text
Zootaxa
2008
1714
41
60
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.180986
eda20f0c-c7ad-4d15-a860-c1a785119165
1175-5326
180986
Teuchothrips
Hood
Teuchothrips
Hood, 1919
: 86
.
Type
species
Teuchothrips simplicipennis
Hood
, by original designation from six species.
Rather more than 40 species-group names have been associated with the generic name
Teuchothrips
, mostly from
Australia
. Five species from
New Caledonia
, and seven from
India
or
Indonesia
are currently listed under this genus (
Mound, 2008
), but no attempt is made here to consider these non-Australian species. These thrips are members of the leaf-feeding
Liothrips
-lineage (
Mound & Marullo, 1996
) of Phlaeothripinae, a group that is particularly species-rich in South
East Asia
and
Australia
. In the Australian National Insect Collection there are many similar-looking undescribed species that are often associated with various
types
of leaf deformations or galls (
Mound & Morris, 2007
). Many of these species are likely to prove to be host specific, but without substantial and replicated samples it is not possible to interpret the patterns of variation in colour and structure that seem to exist within and between populations, including the presence of winged and wingless morphs.
The genus
Teuchothrips
is not distinguished satisfactorily from the worldwide genus
Liothrips
Uzel
that includes over 250 species. Species in both genera have a single sensorium on the third antennal segment, and three (usually 3+1 but more rarely 2) sensoria on the fourth segment. The prosternum lacks basantra, there are no prominent setae laterally on the head, and on the ninth abdominal tergite of males the S2 pair of setae are shorter than the S1 pair. The only differences are that
Teuchothrips
species tend to have the eighth antennal segment short and broadly based, and at least one of the five pairs of pronotal major setae is not elongate, whereas
Liothrips
species have the eighth antennal segment longer and constricted basally, and all five pairs of pronotal major setae are elongate. Despite this, several of the Australian species currently in
Teuchothrips
have all five pairs of pronotal setae well developed, with the epimeral setae considerably longer than in other species listed in the genus. No attempt is made here to develop a revised generic classification, because that will require studies on many similar but undescribed Australian species. At present it seems possible that
Teuchothrips
might be restricted to a few species that resemble the
type
species in lacking duplicated cilia on the forewings.