Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body and legs brown, fore tibiae and fore tarsi paler; antennal segment III almost yellow, IV light brown, V–IX brown; fore wings pale brown. Antennae 9-segmented, segments III–IV with apical sensorium incomplete. Head with ocellar setae III long, arising on anterior margins of triangle; three pairs of long postocular setae. Pronotum with many sculpture lines, with about 10 pairs of discal setae; posterior angles with 2 pairs of long setae. Mesonotum with microtrichia on posterior half. Metanotum with concentric lines and microtrichia on anterior half. Fore wing veinal setae short on basal half of wing but longer toward apex. Fore tibial apex with two stout ventro-lateral setae Abdominal tergites I–VIII medially with no sculpture lines or microtrichia; tergite VIII median setae scarcely 0.5 as long as tergite, arising distant from posterior margin; sternites III-VI each with transverse row of prominent setae, VII with pair of lobes on posterior margin bearing two pairs of setae on anterior margin.
Male smaller than female, tergite I with pair of longitudinal ridges.

Related species

Six species are currently described in the genus Dorythrips, two from Australia and four from South America (de Borbon, 2009).

Biological data

Known only from a few specimens taken in flowers of an Acacia species, but this is not neccessarily the plant on which this thrips breeds.

Distribution data

Described from Western Australia, near Perth, but several specimens of both sexes were found in the flowers of an unidentified Acacia species in Brisbane Forest Park, Queensland. A single female taken in the Tinderry Range, near Canberra, has almost yellow legs and few sternal discal setae.

Family name

MELANTHRIPIDAE

Species name

Dorythrips wallacei Mound

Original name and synonyms

Dorythrips wallacei Mound, 1972: 52

References

de Borbon, CM (2009) A redefinition of Dorythrips (Thysanoptera: Melanthripidae) with a description of a new species from Argentina. Zootaxa 2121: 17–26.

Mound LA (1972) Further studies on Australian Aeolothripidae (Thysanoptera). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 11: 37–54.