Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body brown to dark brown, abdomen yellow laterally, head yellowish around ocellar triangle, pronotum partly yellow, tibiae and tarsi yellow; antennal segments brown; fore wings uniformly shaded; prominent body setae brown. Head as long as wide, produced in front of eyes, reticulate behind eyes but very weakly near ocelli; eyes with 6 weakly pigmented facets; ocellar setae III within ocellar triangle. Antennae 9-segmented, III with sensorium simple, base slightly wider just above pedicel; IV with sensorium forked; II–VI annulate, but II–III without microtrichia, VI sharply pedicellate. Pronotum weakly reticulate medially; with no long setae. Metascutum reticulate, median setae well behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing veinal setae minute; second vein with no setae basal to vein fork; clavus with 4–5 veinal setae. Abdominal tergites reticulate medially, small microtrichia on sculpture lines laterally; II–VII with small tuberculate microtrichia on posterior margin laterally and sometimes medially, setae S3 and S4 shorter than S1 and S2; VIII with posteromarginal comb complete, microtrichia with wide bases; spiracles greatly enlarged, occupying at least half of tergal lateral margin. Sternite VII setae S1 close to posterior margin.

Male unknown.

Related and similar species

There are 43 species of Anaphothrips known from Australia, out of a total of 79 species worldwide (Mound & Masumoto, 2009). Many of these species have the antennae clearly 9-segmented, others clearly have only 8 segments, but several species have an intermediate condition with segment VI bearing a partial and often oblique transverse suture. The significance of this grass-living species remains in doubt. The apterae of A. moundi have been collected with macropterae of A. varii, but it remains uncertain if these represent the same species.

Distribution data

General distribution

Known only from Australia.

Australian distribution

Western Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, and New South Wales.

Biological data

Life history

Feeding on leaves.

Host plants

Grasses (Poaceae).

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Anaphothrips varii Moulton

Original name and synonyms

• Anaphothrips varii Moulton, 1935: 98.

References

Mound LA & Masumoto M. 2009. Australian Thripinae of the Anaphothrips genus-group (Thysanoptera), with three new genera and thirty-three new species. Zootaxa 2042: 1-76.http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/f/zt02042p076.pdf