OzThrips

Thysanoptera in Australia

Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body bicoloured, abdomen brown, head and prothorax yellow with brown markings, legs mainly yellow; fore wings shaded, base and apex paler; antennal segment III mainly yellow, IV–V brown with extreme base yellow, VI–VII brown. Antennae 7-segmented. Head slightly broader than long, vertex with about 6 transverse lines, ocellar region almost without sculpture; ocellar setae III arising on anterior margins of triangle near first ocellus; postocular setae I nearly twice as long as longitudinal diameter of an ocellus; postocular setae II and IV minute. Pronotum with widely spaced transverse lines and up to 30 discal setae; posterior margin with 3 pairs of setae. Mesonotum with no lines of sculpture near campaniform sensilla. Metanotum with irregular longitudinal reticulate/striate sculpture; median pair of setae not close to anterior margin; campaniform sensilla not developed. Fore wing first vein with 3 setae on distal half; second vein with 11 to 12 setae; clavus with 5 marginal setae, terminal seta longest. Abdominal tergite I with irregular sculpture medially, paired campaniform sensilla close to posterior margin; remaining tergites with lines of sculpture weak or absent mesad of campaniform sensilla; tergite II with 4 lateral marginal setae, III–IV with vestigial ctenidia; tergite VIII with posteromarginal comb complete, microtrichia long, slender but slightly irregular; tergite IX with anterior pair of campaniform sensilla not developed, X with short median split. Sternites and pleurotergites without discal setae, pleurotergal sculpture lines weak and without microtrichia.

Male macroptera. Smaller than female, body yellow, distal antennal segments pale brown, forewings weakly shaded; tergite VIII with posteromarginal comb complete mediallysternites III–VII each with exceptionally large transverse pore plate.

Related and similar species

There are 33 species of Thrips genus known from Australia, out of a total of 280 species worldwide (Mound & Masumoto, 2005). Many of these species have the antennae clearly 7-segmented, whereas others have 8 segments. Some species have two complete rows of setae on the fore wing veins, whereas others have the setal row on the first vein more or less widely interrupted. Moreover, some species have sternal discal setae, whereas other species have only marginal setae on the sternites. Despite this variation, all members of Thrips genus have paired ctenidia on the tergites, and on tergite VIII these are postero-mesad to the spiracles, and they also lack ocellar setae pair I in front of the first ocellus. In contrast, Frankliniella species have ctenidia on tergite VIII antero-lateral to the spiracles, and a pair of setae is always present in front of the first ocellus. In structure but not colour T. hoddlei is similar to T. palmi. It differs in the closer position of ocellar setae III, the lack of sculptured lines close to the mesonotal campaniform sensilla, the more irregular metanotal sculpture, and the lack of campaniform sensilla on anterior half of tergite IX.

Distribution data

General distribution

Known only from Australia.

Australian distribution

Queensland.

Biological data

Life history

Feeding and breeding in flowers.

Host plants

Adults taken from Bidens pilosa (Asteraceae), Capsella bursapastoris (Cruciferae).

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Thrips hoddlei Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

  • Thrips hoddlei Mound & Masumoto, 2005: 28

References

Mound LA & Masumoto M. 2005. The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Zootaxa 1020: 1-64. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2005f/zt01020p064.pdf

Oz thrips taxa