Thrips bourbonensis Bournier

Thrips bourbonensis Bournier, 2000: 94 In describing this species from La Réunion, the author made no formal attempt to distinguish it from the species Thrips candidus that he had described previously from that territory. The only distinction was given in a table of character states: in this the comb on tergite VIII of candidus was stated to be “complete but irregular” in contrast to “complete and regular” in bourbonensis . Paratype females of these two have been compared, and there is no significant difference between them in this comb (Figs 7–8), nor in any aspect of the chaetotaxy or sculpture, including the metanotum (Figs 4–5). The difference in body colour is possibly due to the specimens of candidus having been kept in ethanol for a long time before slide mounting.