Caliothrips punctipennis (Hood)

Heliothrips punctipennis Hood, 1912: 135 –136.

Currently 22 species are recognized in Caliothrips (ThripsWiki 2016), and about half of these are from the USA (Nakahara 1991) with several, including punctipennis, associated with grasses. This species has been reported from Florida, Texas, Mexico and the Hawaiian Islands (Mound et al. 2016), and is here reported from southern Japan. Little is known of its biology, but it is easily distinguished from other species of Caliothrips by the extensively white fore wings.

Female macroptera. Distended body length about 1.2mm, Body dark brown, legs completely yellow, occasionally femora and tibiae medially shaded brown, antennal segments III–V largely yellow with apices light brown; fore wing white except for brown apex, occasional pale brown blotch in basal fourth.

Male. Unknown.

Specimens examined. JAPAN ( Ryukyus), Okinawa-prefecture, Naha City, Wakasa-park on Paspalum sp. [ Poaceae] (K. Minoura): 1 female, 13.xi.2015 ; 2 females, 19.xi.2015; 4 females, 22.xi.2015; 4 females, 29.xi.2015. Nago City, Kise, 7 females on Poaceae, 23.xii.2015 (K. Minoura). Miyakojima City, Uechi, Sugama , 1 female on Poaceae, 29.ii.2016 (H. Kurahashi).