Frankliniella hemerocallis J. C. Crawford, 1948

(Figs 4–16)

Diagnosis. Female macroptera (Fig. 4). Body uniformly dark brown, femora, mid and hind tibiae dark brown, fore tibia brownish yellow, tarsi yellow, fore wing dark with base pale. Head (Fig. 6) large, slightly prolonged in front of ocelli, slightly concave at middle of cheeks. Anteocellar setae two pairs, interocellar setae situated at tangent line of anterior margin of hind ocelli and slightly longer than interval of hind ocelli. Postocular setae IV small, subequal length to longitudinal diameter of hind ocellus. Antennae 8-segmented (Fig. 7), segments III and VI with forked sensoria. Pronotum with two minor setae between anteromarginal major setae. Metascutum (Fig. 8) with median pair of setae at anterior margin; campaniform sensilla usually absent, but one or paired sensilla often present. Fore wing with complete setae lows on both fore and hind veins. Abdominal tergites V to VIII with paired ctenidia which are situated anterolateral to spiracles on VIII; tergite VIII (Fig. 9) with posteromarginal comb complete, microtrichia having a triangular base and short, a few microtrichia often lacking. In male, body colour and structure very similar to female (Fig. 5), abdominal tergite VIII (Fig. 10) with only a few microtrichia at each side, small scallops medially; sternites III to VII (Fig. 11) each with a transverse pore plate.

Second instar larva. Body colour almost uniformly yellow, head shaded between antennae (Fig. 12); abdominal tergite IX (Fig. 15) with posterior dark area to slightly anterior to major setal base, tergite X with dark area at posterior half to campaniform sensilla. Length of D2 setae and D4 setae on head (Fig. 12) each 23–25 microns and 20–25 microns, and usually subequal, but sometimes D4 setae slightly longer than D2 setae. Antennae 6-segmented (Fig. 13), segment III annulated but without microtrichia, IV with annulations of microtrichia. Mesothoracic spiracles with about 12 cells. Abdominal tergites (Figs 14, 15) covered with small plaques having a very weak posterior tooth, tooth slightly larger at both sides of each tergite and posterior tergites; tergite IX with median campaniform sensilla wide apart each other about 1.5 times as wide as interval median setae, without posteromarginal teeth; sternites (Fig. 16) with plaque having a posterior tooth slightly larger than on tergites. Major setae are blunt at apex dorsally but acute ventrally.

Specimens examined. JAPAN, Honshu, Chiba Pref., Inba-gun, Sakae-machi, Bousouno-mura: 29 females & 4 males on flower bud of Hemerocallis sp. [ Liliaceae], 26.vi.2012, M. Masumoto; 4 females on flower bud of Hemerocallis sp., 2.vii.2012, M. Masumoto; 103 females, 18 males & 23 second instar larvae on flower bud of Hemerocallis sp., 9.vi.2013, M. Masumoto; 62 females, 13 males & 8 second instar larvae on flower bud of Hemerocallis sp., 15.vi.2013, M. Masumoto. Many females remain in collecting fluid other than these slides. The slides are deposited in Laboratory of Entomology, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Atsugi, and Yokohama Plant Protection Station, Yokohama, Japan.

Comments. This species shares most characters with F. intonsa but is easily distinguished from the latter species by the dark fore wing and legs, and larger head. In second instar larva, it can be distinguished from both F. intonsa and F. occidentalis by having tergite IX with no posteromarginal teeth. Moreover, F. hemerocallis is similar to F. insularis in colour, but the latter species has very long postocular setae IV and tergite VIII without the posteromarginal comb interrupted medially.

Bionomics. F. hemerocallis feeds on leaf, stem and petals rather than pollen. Numerous individuals including larvae are found in small flower buds, on the base of leaf, and in the longitudinal groove on the outer surface of petals of flower buds, together with numerous individuals of the aphid, Indomegoura indica (van der Goot) (Figs 1–3). However, few individuals of the thrips were found within flowers after blooming. The leaves, stems and petals infested by the thrips were damaged, but the damage caused by thrips or aphids could not be distinguished. Despite the absence, indicated above, of records of this thrips from other parts of the Oriental Region, the strong association with Hemerocallis, a plant genus distributed naturally from Central Europe across Asia, suggests that the insect possibly originated in Eurasia, including Japan, as considered by O’Neill & Nakahara (1970).