OzThrips

Thysanoptera in Australia

Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body and legs yellow with brown markings; tergites II–VIII brown medially and across anterior half; mesonotum and metascutum brown laterally; pronotum with brown markings; antennal segment I white, II dark brown, III and basal half of IV brownish yellow, V–IX light brown; wings faintly shaded; tergite IX setae light brown. Head wider than long, with closely spaced sculpture lines behind eyes; eyes with 6 weakly pigmented facets; ocellar setae III just outside ocellar triangle. Antennae 9-segmented; III–IV with sensorium forked, II with three rows of microtrichia; VI not pedicellate, suture between VI–VII oblique. Pronotum with irregular transverse lines of sculpture; posteromarginal setae S1 larger than remaining setae. Metascutal sculpture reticulate, lines with slight craspedal flanges; median setae fine and well back from anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Prosternal ferna almost complete medially. Fore wing relatively broad, first vein with about 15 setae basally, 2 setae medially and 2 setae near apex; second vein with about 16 setae; clavus with 6 veinal setae and one basal seta. Abdominal tergites V–VII with no sculpture medially, II–IV with some lines medially; tergites laterally with up to 10 striae bearing numerous pale ciliate microtrichia with triangular bases, sculpture extending mesad of setae S2 almost to campaniform sensilla; VIII with long regular marginal comb; IX with many transverse sculpture lines. Sternite VII median setae close to posterior margin.

Male macroptera. Similar to female; tergite lateral sculpture lines with distinct craspeda but no microtrichia; IX with median setae not stout; sternites with no pore plates.

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. yalgooi. Although the metascutal sculpture is similar to that of A. geijerae, that species has a clearly transverse suture between antennal segments VI–VII, and also lacks pigmented eye facets.

Distribution data

General distribution

Known only from Australia.

Australian distribution

Western Australia.

Biological data

Life history

Feeding on leaves.

Host plants

Eremophila sp. (Myoporaceae).

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Anaphothrips yalgooi Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

  • Anaphothrips yalgooi Mound & Masumoto, 2009: 58.

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