K. Delclaro et al., A NEW BRAZILIAN SPECIES OF HETEROTHRIPS (INSECTA, THYSANOPTERA) COEXISTING WITH ANTS IN THE FLOWERS OF PEIXOTOA-TOMENTOSA (MALPIGHIACEAE), Journal of Natural History, 31(9), 1997, pp. 1307-1312
Heterothrips peixotoa Del-Claro, Marullo and Mound is described as new
. It has remarkably pale forewings, and lives in the flowers of a malp
ighiaceous shrub in Brazilian cerrado. The sepals of each flower are S
-shaped and enclose a central cavity within which the thrips live and
breed. Although some large ants are unable to penetrate this cavity, o
ther ants are small enough to enter the space between the petals and s
epals, and this leads to a reduction in thrips numbers. Several other
members of this genus of thrips are known from the flowers of other sp
ecies of Malpighiaceae.