Androthrips monsterae ( Moulton, 1940 ), 1974

Androthrips monsterae ( Moulton, 1940) View in CoL

( Figs 2, 3 View FIGURES 1–4 , 6, 17–20, 22, 25–26)

Podothrips monsterae Moulton, 1940: 267 View in CoL .

Androthrips monsterae (Moulton) Ritchie, 1974: 264 View in CoL .

Androthrips guiyangensis Sha, Feng & Duan, 2003: 14 View in CoL . Syn. nov.

This species was originally described from two females and one male collected on leaves of Monstera deliciosa View in CoL in Koitaki, New Guinea. Moulton (1940) placed it in the genus Podothrips View in CoL based on the armature of the fore legs, but Ritchie (1974) transferred it to Androthrips View in CoL after examining a paratype female. The species has subsequently been recorded from Australia ( Mound & Minaei 2007) and from Guangdong, China ( Zhao et al. 2015). Sha et al. (2003) described A. guiyangensis View in CoL as a new species from Guizhou, China, comparing it only with A. ramachandrai View in CoL . However, as noted by Zhao et al. (2015), A. guiyangensis View in CoL is very similar to A. monsterae View in CoL . In the original description, Sha et al. (2003) stated that the pronotal anteroangular setae were reduced and the anteromarginal setae well developed, with the pronotum fully sculptured with transverse reticulation. Examination of two paratype females, however, shows the opposite condition: the pronotal anteroangular setae are well developed, the anteromarginals are reduced to small setae, and the pronotal dorsal surface is almost smooth, lacking sculpture ( Fig. 20 View FIGURES 17–20 ). As there is no significant morphological difference between A. monsterae View in CoL and A. guiyangensis View in CoL , the latter is here placed in synonymy with the former. Androthrips monsterae View in CoL can be readily distinguished from A. crus View in CoL and A. ramachandrai View in CoL by having all tarsi clear yellow.

Specimens examined. Paratypes of guiyangensis : 2 females macropterae, CHINA, Guizhou, Guiyang City, from Cinnamomum mairei , 08.X.1995, collected by Xianglin Xie. Specimens of monsterae : 1 female macroptera, CHINA, Yunnan, Dehong City, Mangshi County, from Ficus , 27.IX.2008, collected by Jia Liu & Jiamei Mao; 4 females macropterae, CHINA, Guangdong, Guangzhou City, from Ficus , 20.VIII.2007, collected by Ling Zeng.