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Abstract
Mecynothrips hardyi (Priesner), a member of the phlaeothripid subfamily Idolothripinae, is demonstrated to feed on whole fungal spores on hanging dead leaves and branches of Acacia harpophylla (brigalow). The diet primarily comprises spores of a recently described species of Dothiorella (Botryosphaeriaceae). The 14μm-wide food canal enclosed by the maxillary stylets is evidently adapted to imbibe whole spores, and the foregut includes a sclerotized proventriculus with internal ridges that presumably aids in the abrasion and thus digestion of the thick-walled spores.
Acknowledgements
We thank Sandy Pollock, Qld Herbarium for assisting in locating stands of Acacia harpophylla in southeast Queensland and providing identifications of trees used in this study. Thanks also to Roger Shivas for his invaluable support in isolations and identifications of the fungal spores and Bronwen Cribb for her assistance in preparing the thrips' foreguts for the SEM.