Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body and legs yellow, tergite X light brown distally; antennal segment I white, II brown, III brownish yellow, IV–IX brown; fore wing weakly shaded; tergite IX major setae brown. Head with weak transverse anastomosing striae behind eyes not extending to ocellar region; ocellar setae III well outside margins of ocellar triangle; eyes without pigmented facets. Antennae 9-segmented; segment II with no microtrichia, III–IV with short, relatively stout, forked sense cone; VI narrowed to base but not pedicellate; suture transverse between VI–VII. Pronotum with weak sculpture lines, all setae small. Metascutum reticulate; median setae near anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing first vein with 9–13 setae basally, 2–3 setae medially, 2 setae distally; second vein with 15–22 setae, including 1–3 setae basal to vein fork; clavus with 7–9 veinal setae. Abdominal tergites III–VII with no sculpture medially; laterally with about 8 anastomosing striae bearing short, weak microtrichia, lines not extending mesad of setae S2; tergite VIII with long regular comb.
Male macroptera. Similar to female; tergite IX medially with two pairs of dark brown, thorn-like setae; sternites III–VII with large C-shaped pore plate that is almost confluent with the margins of each sternite.

Related species

There are 43 species of Anaphothrips known from Australia (Mound & Masumoto, 2009), out of a total of 86 species worldwide (ThripsWiki, 2020). Many of these species have the antennae clearly 9-segmented as in A. astrolomi. However, other species clearly have only 8 segments, and several species have an intermediate condition with segment VI bearing a partial and often oblique transverse suture. The pronotal setae are short, and the fore wing clavus has no discal seta. Some species in this genus can be recognised securely only in the male sex, and this is true of A. astrolomi in which males have a different chaetotaxy on tergite IX and exceptionally large sternal pore plates. However, females of this species have the microtrichia of the comb on tergite eight more closely spaced than in A. epacrida, and usually have more veinal setae on the fore wing clavus.

Biological data

Adults have been taken only from flowers of Astroloma styphelioides [Ericaceae].

Distribution data

Recorded only from South Australia and Western Australia.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Anaphothrips astrolomi Pitkin

Original name and synonyms

Anaphothrips astrolomi Pitkin, 1978: 353.

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