Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body, legs and antennae pale brown, hind tibiae paler, antennal segment I white; fore wing weakly shaded in basal half; tergite IX major setae brown. Head wider than long; transverse sculpture lines behind eyes, ocellar triangle without sculpture; eyes with 6 pigmented facets; ocellar setae III outside triangle. Antennae 9-segmented, III–IV with forked sensorium; II with a few short microtrichia near apex; VI not pedicellate, suture oblique between VI–VII. Pronotum with faint transverse lines, posteromarginal setae S1 slightly larger than remaining setae; prosternal ferna weakly divided. Metascutum irregularly reticulate, reticles sometimes elongate; median setae not close to anterior margin, campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first vein with about 9 setae near base, 2 setae medially, 2 setae distally; second vein with about 12 setae; clavus with 6–7 veinal setae plus one seta at base. Abdominal tergites II–VII with no sculpture medially; laterally with about 8 transverse lines with few or no microtrichia, not extending mesad of setae S2; VIII with long regular posteromarginal comb.

Male macroptera. Similar to female; tergite IX with median setae not short and stout; sternite III with one weakly transverse pore plate medially.

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 pronotal setae are short, and the forewing clavus has no discal seta. The distal segmentation of the antennae is irregular in A. cobari, and in males the presence of just one small weakly transverse pore plate medially on the third sternite is currently unique in this genus.

Distribution data

General distribution

Known only from Australia.

Australian distribution

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

Biological data

Life history

Feeding on leaves.

Host plants

Myoporum sp. (Myoporaceae), Eremophila sp. (Myoporaceae), Dodonaea sp. (Sapindaceae), Lycium ferossissimum (Solanaceae) and Suaeda australis (Chenopodiaceae).

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Anaphothrips cobari Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

• Anaphothrips cobari Mound & Masumoto, 2009: 27

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