Notes on the biology, distribution, biosecurity status and history in New Zealand of Macrotrachelia nigronitens (Stål, 1860) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae)

Stephen Thorpe

doi:10.15468/17g4a1

Notes on the biology, distribution, biosecurity status and history in New Zealand of Macrotrachelia nigronitens (Stål, 1860) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae)

Citation

Thorpe S (2014). Notes on the biology, distribution, biosecurity status and history in New Zealand of Macrotrachelia nigronitens (Stål, 1860) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae). Biodiversity Data Journal. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/17g4a1 accessed via GBIF.org on 2019-01-22.

Description

Macrotrachelia nigronitens (Stål, 1860) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) is permanently present in the wild in Auckland (AK), New Zealand. It should therefore be added to the New Zealand Organisms Register (NZOR). It is a specialised predator of thrips inside leaf-roll galls. It has been present in New Zealand since at least the 1980s. Aspects of its biology, distribution, biosecurity status and history in New Zealand are discussed. The first detailed specimen records from New Zealand are provided, and a biological association is noted for the first time with Teuchothrips disjunctus on Callistemon, probably its main association in New Zealand, where only two species of thrips cause leaf-roll galls. It has not been found associated with other thrips in New Zealand. M. nigronitens is not known to be present in Australia, but the poorly known Anthocoris austropiceus Gross, 1954 has been reported, in an easily overlooked publication, to be associated with Teuchothrips disjunctus on Callistemon in Canberra. This led to an early tentative identification, by the author, of New Zealand material of M. nigronitens as A. austropiceus, in collections. This likely misidentification can now be discounted, but further research in Australia is required to determine the true identity of both A. austropiceus, and whatever species of anthocorid was found in Canberra.

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Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

Stephen Thorpe
originator
position: Mr
School of Biological Sciences (Tamaki Campus), University of Auckland
Auckland
NZ
email: stephen_thorpe@yahoo.co.nz

Stephen Thorpe
metadata author
position: Mr
School of Biological Sciences (Tamaki Campus), University of Auckland
Auckland
NZ
email: stephen_thorpe@yahoo.co.nz

Stephen Thorpe
administrative point of contact
position: Mr
School of Biological Sciences (Tamaki Campus), University of Auckland
Auckland
NZ
email: stephen_thorpe@yahoo.co.nz