(Psocoptera: Psocidae: Thyrsophorinae)

Abstract

Abstract The thyrsophorine psocids are of unusual interest because of their huge size, extremely long antennae, and the striking coloration seen in some species. These psocids are found throughout much of the American tropics. Although discovered early (Burmeister 1839), they have always been scarce in collections. The collection studied in this paper is the largest that has been reported upon. The thyrsophorine taxon has been treated as a family (Enderlein 1903; Pearman 1936; Badonnel 1951), as a subfamily of the family Psocidae (New 1978), and as a tribe of the family Psocidae, subfamily Psocinae (Roesler 1944). The taxonomic status as designated by New (1978) is followed here, but several characters suggest close proximity to the subfamily Cerastipsocinae of family Psocidae. This work is based on the examination of 118 adult specimens collected in Panama primarily by light trap. Observations for colour descriptions were made with a dissecting microscope and direct illumination of specimens in alcohol, unless otherwise indicated. Body parts were drawn with a drawing tube on a compound microscope from material mounted permanently in Hoyer’s medium. Wing drawings were made with a microprojector. Measurements were made with a filar micrometer; the micrometer unit was 2.63µm. Abbreviations used for structures measured (Table 16.1) are explained as follows: FW = forewing length, HW = hindwing length; F = hind femoral length; T = hind tibial length; t1, t2 = length of hind first and second tarsomeres (also used for these structures in the text); cten = number of ctenidia (comb-based setae) on hind t1; f1, f2 = length of first and second flagellomeres; IO/d = least distance between compound eyes in dorsal view divided by transverse diameter of compound eye in dorsal view. The nomenclature of wing veins and cells (Figs 16.1, 16.2) is standard for the order.