Teuchothrips connatus Hood

Teuchothrips connatus (Hood)

Liothrips connatus Hood, 1918: 135

Cryptothrips nigronympha Girault, 1928b: 3. syn.n.

Described from a single female collected at Pentland in northern Queensland, this holotype has now been compared with the original specimens of nigronympha, together with three females collected by Alice Wells on Eremophila deserti near Taroom in southern Queensland during April, 2007. These three females were collected together with a good series of Klambothrips walsinghami (see below), and this plant is likely to prove to be the host of both species.

Girault’s description of nigronympha was: “From Horistothrips Australiae: P.L.’s equal, wing coloured centrally only, antennal 3 dusky at apex, 8 not twice longer than wide. Females, brigalow, Wallumbilla, 17th October, 1923.” The slide labelled type (Fig. 1) bears three females under one coverslip. One has the third antennal segment yellow, not “dusky at apex” as given in the original description. Moreover, this female has a pair of small cheek setae near the base, the postocular setae and the pronotal anteromarginal and midlateral setae are no larger than discal setae, and there is no fore tarsal tooth. This specimen is now recognised as Klambothrips walsinghami (see below).

The other two females on the Girault type slide are apparently conspecific, but both are crushed. The stylets of one specimen are long and close together; the postocular setae are long (125 microns), much longer than the distance between the eyes, but capitate; antennal segment III bears one sensorium, IV bears three sensoria; the pronotum has five pairs of equally long setae (Fig. 22); the metanotum and pelta are strongly reticulate; tergite IX setae have softly rounded apices, setae S1 are not quite as long as the tube; the forewing subbasal setae arise in a straight line, and only five duplicated cilia are visible on the forewing which is broad and slightly shaded at the margins. Contrary to Mound & Houston (1987) nigronympha cannot be a synonym of ater, because of the arrangement of the sub-basal wing setae.