OzThrips

Thysanoptera in Australia

Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body, legs and antennal segments I–III yellow, IV–VI faintly shaded at apex, VII–IX palest brown; fore wings pale; tergite IX major setae pale. Head wider than long, with closely spaced sculpture lines behind eyes; eyes with 6 pigmented facets; ocellar setae III outside ocellar triangle. Antennae 9-segmented; III–IV with sensorium forked, II without microtrichia; VI not pedicellate, suture between VI–VII oblique. Pronotum almost without sculpture, or with faint well-spaced, transverse lines; with no long setae, discal setae small. Metascutal sculpture irregularly reticulate with some elongate reticles; median setae fine and well back from anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing first vein with about 9 setae basally, 2 setae medially and 2 setae near apex; second vein with 9–11 setae; clavus with 5 veinal setae plus one seta at base. Abdominal tergites II–VII with no sculpture medially, lateral to setae S2 with about 7 lines bearing short microtrichia; VIII with long regular marginal comb.

Male macroptera. Similar to female; tergite IX with two pairs of setae scarcely thickened; sternite III with pore plate close to anterior margin, weakly defined, transverse and slender or apparently broken medially or possibly even absent.

Related and similar species

There are 43 species of Anaphothrips known from Australia, out of a total of 79 species worldwide (Mound & Masumoto, 2009). Many of these species have the antennae clearly 9-segmented, others clearly have only 8 segments, but several species have an intermediate condition with segment VI bearing a partial and often oblique transverse suture as in A. barrowi. The pronotal setae are short, and the forewing clavus has no discal seta. Some species in this genus can be recognised only in the male sex. A. barrowi females are similar to those of A. barringtoni but the pore plate on the third sternite of the male is slender.

Distribution data

General distribution

Known only from Australia.

Australian distribution

Western Australia, Barrow Island.

Biological data

Life history

Feeding on leaves.

Host plants

Eremophila sp. (Myoporaceae).

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Anaphothrips barrowi Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

  • Anaphothrips barrowi Mound & Masumoto, 2009: 21

References

Mound LA & Masumoto M. 2009. Australian Thripinae of the Anaphothrips genus-group (Thysanoptera), with three new genera and thirty-three new species. Zootaxa 2042: 1-76.http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/f/zt02042p076.pdf

Oz thrips taxa