One new species and two new records of the genus Aeolothrips from Iran (Insecta, Thysanoptera, Aeolothripidae)

Abstract Aeolothrips gundeliae sp. n. is described, and two bicolored species of the same genus, Aeolothrips ericae Bagnall and Aeolothrips albithorax Pelikan are newly reported from northeast of Iran. Diagnostic characters are provided for each species as well as illustrations to distinguish these species.


Introduction
Most species in the order Thysanoptera are placed in one of the two families, Phlaeothripidae or Thripidae. Aeolothripidae, with more than 202 extant species and 23 genera, is ranked as the second largest family of suborder Terebrantia after Thripidae (ThripsWiki 2015). Aeolothripids are mainly distributed in the temperate parts of the world, although members of several genera are restricted to the tropics. Those are mainly flower living phytophagous specices, or facultative predators of other arthropods (Reynaud 2010). A few species can be found living at ground level as obligate predators (ThripsWiki 2015). Approximately 60% of the described species in this family are placed either in the Holarctic genus Aeolothrips Haliday or in the Australian genus Desmothrips Hood, with 103 and 20 species respectively (ThripsWiki 2015). The remaining known species of this family are distributed between 21 genera.
In Iran, the main aeolothripid genus, Aeolothrips, comprises many species (Minaei 2013a). There has recently been a remarkable increase in the number of taxonomic studies on this genus, with the number of species known from Iran increasing from 12 (Bhatti et al. 2009) to 17 (Minaei 2013b), and with four new species in the most recent studies (Minaei 2014(Minaei , 2015Alavi et al. 2015). In this paper one further new species of Aeolothrips is described from Iran.

Material and methods
The specimens were collected from various places of the northeastern province of Iran, Khorasan-e shomali, during spring of 2014, by shaking or beating flowers onto a white plastic tray. The fallen thrips were then removed from tray surface into the vials containing 95% alcohol using a fine brush. Thrips specimens were mounted onto slides in Canada balsam by minor changes in protocol given by Bisevac (1997). Morphological terminology follows that of Mound andMarullo (1998) andzur Strassen (2003). All measurements were made with a Micros MCX100 microscope; measurements in descriptions are given in micrometers. Photomicrographs were captured using a Motic BA310 microscope with Motic Image Plus 2.0ML software.
Type deposition. The female holotype and one male paratype of A. gundeliae sp. n., one female and one male of A. albithorax, and two females of A. ericae are deposited in Hayk Mirzayans Insect Museum (HMIM), Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection (IRIPP), Tehran. Furthermore, one paratype female and one paratype male of the new species are deposited in the Senckenberg Natural History Museum, Frankfurt. Pelikan, 1964 Figs 1-8 Note. Described from Tajikistan (central Asia), this is the first report of this species outside its type locality. Collected originally from "low herbages" and "Rumex sp." (Pelikan 1964  Diagnosis. Female distinctly bicolored, lemon yellow prothorax in sharp contrast to the rest of the dark brown body (Fig. 1); legs brown. Antennal segment I yellowish grey, II and III yellow, III rather abruptly brown in distal half (Fig. 2). Submedian pair of posteromarginal setae on pronotum longer and stouter than others (Fig. 3). Fore wings with two brown cross bands, connected with dark posteromarginal vein between them (Fig. 4).
Remarks. The bicolored body pattern in some specimens of A. ericae makes the species resemble only A. albicinctus Haliday, but it is distinguished from that antmimic species by its well-developed wings (versus usually short wings) and shorter and stouter antenna. Moreover, males of A. ericae with bifurcate claspers are readily distinguishable from A. albicinctus males. The male of A. ericae is also similar in color and structure to A. collaris, but it is distinguished from the latter by having distinctly longer cross-bands on fore wings and also shorter distance of median setae S1from each other. Description. Female macroptera. Head wider than long, cheeks convex (Fig. 22); vertex with 6-7 pairs of preocellar setae in front of ocellar triangle; postocular area with 8-9 pairs of setae in 2-3 transverse rows. Antennal segment III with straight liner sensorium, extending to apical third of segment (or more), not reaching to half length of the segment; IV with sensorium curved at apex, extending at most to basal half of the segments, surpassing extreme distal tip of segment (Fig. 20).
Abdominal tergite I with distinct transverse striations medially and laterally (Fig.  25); . Abdominal sternites with distinct transverse striations; sternite II with 3 pairs of posteromarginal setae, median pair far from posterior margin; III-VI with 4 pairs; VII with 4 pairs of which the last lateral pair is far from posterior margin, the distance of S1 setae from each other usually approximately equals to that of S1from S2 (Figs 26-27); sternites II-VI each with 0-3 median discal setae (in holotype, II-V each with 1seta, and VI with 2 setae); sternite VII with 2 pairs of accessory setae, arranged besides each other, far from posterior margin (Fig. 27-28). In two paratypes sternite VII with 1 or 2 (one seta in each side) discal setae laterally in addition to 2 pairs of accessory setae submedially (Fig. 27). Spermatheca structurally very similar to that of tenuicornis (see : Bhatti 1988), but slightly smaller and thinner, with fewer number of spiniform chitinous processes (Fig. 28).
Etymology. This species is named after the genus of plant from which it was collected.
Remarks. Possession of discal setae on sternites is not usual in the genus Aeolothrips. This condition can be seen at least in two other aberrant species, the Indian species, A. moundi Kulshrestha & Vijay Veer, which has one pair of discal setae laterally on sternite VII in female (Kulshrestha and Vijay Veer 1984), and the African species A. scabiosatibia Moulton, with 2-3 pairs of discal setae laterally on sternites VI-VII in female.
Female of A. gundeliae sp. n. is distinguished from A. moundi by presence of discal setae on sternites II-VI (0-3) and in the same time there is no discal seta on sternite VII (except two paratypes as explained above). Moreover, they are different in mesonotal median setae (1-2 pairs versus 1 pair) and color of fore wing apex (white versus shaded). Female of A. scabiosatibia especially characterized by the spiny fore tibia on dorsal side, and long pronotal posteromarginal seta. Male of the new species is distinguished from A. moundi and A. scabiosatibia by having claspers and having several discal setae on sternites.
The new species shares some characters with the Australian genus Desmothrips Hood, such as presence of discal setae on sternites as well as presence of more than one pair of mesonotal setae in some specimens. But in A. gundeliae sp. n., sternal discal setae III-VI are placed medially (versus laterally in Desmothrips). Additionally, sternite VII has 2 pairs of accessory setae submedially between marginal setae S1 and S2, whereas in Desmothrips in addition to the marginal setae, sternite VII has discal setae laterally and sometimes medially, as well as 2 pairs of accessory setae submarginally between marginal setae S1 and S2 (Mound andMarullo 1998, Mound 1972). Finally, apex of fore wing of the new species is not shaded in contrast to Desmothrips species (except D. marilynae Mound & Marullo, 1998).
Aeolothrips gundeliae sp. n. was collected only on G. tournefortii from various areas of the province. Furthermore, this species was observed in 6 of 10 samplings on this plant; so, it seems likely to be a monophagous species on this plant.