Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body and legs yellow; antennal segment I white, II pale brown, III–V pale brown with base variably yellow, VI–IX brown; fore wings lightly shaded; tergite IX major setae dark. Head with a few transverse anastomosing lines, smooth within ocellar triangle; ocellar setae III just outside ocellar triangle, in front of hind ocelli; eyes without pigmented facets. Antennae 9-segmented; segments III–IV with sense cone forked, VI weakly pedicellate, suture between VI–VII transverse. Pronotum almost without sculpture lines, with no long setae. Metascutum reticulate, median setae near anterior margin, campaniform sensilla present usually on anterior half. Fore wing first vein with about 9 setae basally, 2 setae medially, 2 setae distally; second vein with about 15 setae including 1–3 setae basal to vein fork; clavus with 6–7 marginal setae including one seta near base. Abdominal tergites II–VII smooth medially; laterally with about 8 anastomosing lines with weak microtrichia, lines extend just mesad of S2 setae; VIII with long, fine posteromarginal comb.
Male macroptera. Similar to female; tergite IX with one pair of short, stout, dark setae medially, and two pairs of small pale, fine setae posterior to these; tergite IX posterolateral margin with one pair of short, broadly conical, dark brown “setae”; sternites III–VII with large C-shaped pore plate.

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, others clearly have only 8 segments, but several species have an intermediate condition with segment VI bearing a partial and often oblique transverse suture. Both sexes of A. epacrida share many character states with A. astrolomae and A. desleyae, and the females of these species are difficult to distinguish. The broadly conical “setae” posterolaterally on tergite IX of males in A. epacrida do not appear to have typical setal bases, and they may be homologous with the pair of spine-like structures arising in a similar position in A. desleyae males, also the recurved structures in A. dubius.

Biological data

Feeding and breeding on the leaves of Monotoca elliptica and Leucopogon sp. [Epacridaceae], adult also taken from Gahnia seed heads.

Distribution data

Recorded from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Anaphothrips epacrida Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

Anaphothrips epacrida Mound & Masumoto, 2009: 32.

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