OzThrips

Thysanoptera in Australia

Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body, antennae and legs brown, tarsi slightly paler; fore wings shaded but paler near base. Head wider than long, sculptured behind eyes but not near ocelli; eyes with 6 pigmented facets; ocellar setae III on anterior margins of triangle. Antennae 9-segmented; III–IV with forked sensorium; III unusually short, VII–IX elongate; II–V with few or with no microtrichia; VI narrowed to base but not pedicellate; IX longer than VIII. Pronotum weakly sculptured; with no long setae and few discal setae. Metascutum reticulate; median setae small, on anterior third of sclerite; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wing setae well developed, first vein with 8–9 basally, 3 medially and 2 distally; second vein with 11 setae including one seta basal to vein fork; clavus with 6 veinal setae and one basal seta. Abdominal tergites IV–VII with no sculpture medially, lines scarcely extend mesad of setae S2; VIII with comb of slender but rather widely spaced microtrichia; setae on IX–X long.

Male unknown.

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. The uniformly brown body of A. orchis, and the short brown third antennal segment, are distinctive within Anaphothrips. The inner lobe of the forked sensorium on the third antennal segment is not always fully developed, and the ninth segment is unusually long.

Distribution data

General distribution

Known only from Australia.

Australian distribution

New South Wales and Southern Australia.

Biological data

Life history

Feeding on leaves and flowers.

Host plants

Prasophyllum affine (Orchidaceae).

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Anaphothrips orchis Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

  • Anaphothrips orchis Mound & Masumoto, 2009: 47

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