THRIPIDAE

Mound, Laurence A. & Wells, Alice, 2015, Endemics and adventives: Thysanoptera (Insecta) biodiversity of Norfolk, a tiny Pacific Island, Zootaxa 3964 (2), pp. 183-210 : 201

THRIPIDAE

Most pest species of thrips are members of the Thripidae , but despite extensive searching of a wide range of flowers and leaves, including mature plants and seedlings, surprisingly few members of this family have been found on Norfolk Island. Only two endemic species of Thripidae have been found, and there is little evidence of any relationship to the Australian fauna of this family. Pseudanaphothrips and Scirtothrips both include many species in Australia, but no species of the first of these genera has been found on Norfolk Island, although one new species in the second genus is described below living only on the young leaves of Norfolk Island Pine trees. Similarly, among the many native Australian species in the genera Anaphothrips and Thrips, only one of each has been seen from the island. This is a particularly surprising situation, because the thrips fauna of Lord Howe Island has many Australian thripid elements ( Mound 1999). Of the two endemic Thripidae on Norfolk Island, both of which are described below, Scirtothrips araucariae is possibly related to species from Australia, but Thrips merae is a member of a species-group that is native to New Zealand. The most abundant flower thrips on Norfolk Island, Thrips novocaledonensis , is possibly native, and is known otherwise only from New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The other recorded Thripidae all appear to be tramp species.

Four subfamilies are recognised in the family Thripidae , but no species of Sericothripinae has been found on Norfolk Island. The recorded genera and species are listed below alphabetically under the other three recognised subfamilies—Dendrothripinae, Panchaetothripinae, and Thripinae.