Chirothrips Haliday

Nakahara, Sueo & Foottit, Robert G., 2012, Review of Chirothrips and related genera (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) of the Americas, with descriptions of one new genus and four new species, Zootaxa 3251, pp. 1-29 : 12

Chirothrips Haliday

Thrips subgenus Chirothrips Haliday 1836: 444 . Type Species: Thrips (Chirothrips) manicata Haliday , by monotypy. Chirothrips: Amyot and Serville 1843 .

Female. Macropterous or rarely brachypterous. Antennal segment I not enlarged and less than 2.5 times as wide base of II; II symmetrical, asymmetrical, apical part angulate or produced laterally, thin seta on apex of angulation or process or 1 or 2 setae subapical on lateral margin. Head slightly to greatly produced anterior of eyes; vertex with 12 or fewer pairs of short setae, venter with normal bristle-like setae. Pronotum with 2 pairs of well developed posteroangular setae, and relatively few short discal setae; basantra membranous, setae absent; prospinasternum a sclerotized band with conical spina. Fore tibia without outer apical process. Mesonotum with bristle-like median setae far anterior of posterior margin; posterior setae on margin or slightly anterior; mesosternal furcal invaginations approximated. Metanotum with 2 pairs of bristle-like setae. Abdominal tergites with sculpture lines oriented transversely or anastomosing; tergites with posteromarginal lobes, or continuous transverse flange, extending from posterior margin or slightly overlapping tergite. Abdominal sternites with or without posteromarginal flange or lobes. Ovipositor usually well developed.

Male. Brachypterous. Smaller than females. Head without ocelli; mesosternal furcal invaginations slightly separated in male of C. aculeatus and in occasional male of other species; other anatomical structures may differ from those of females in shapes and sizes, or may be present or absent. Glandular areas present on abdominal sternites.

Comments. With the assignment of 16 species previously in Chirothrips to Arorathrips , one to Konothrips and one to Oelschlaegera , 17 species remain in this genus in the New World. Arorathrips and Konothrips have separated mesosternal furcal invaginations, enlarged antennal segment I, and segment II is strongly angulate or prolonged anterior laterally, with an apical or subapical sense cone or seta. In Chirothrips , the invaginations of the mesosternal furca are not separated (except for males of some species), antennal segment I is not enlarged, segment II is symmetrical or asymmetrically angulate or produced anterior laterally and with small apical or subapical setae. The differences between Chirothrips and Oelschlaegera are discussed in the comments for the latter genus. The adventive species are Chirothrips aculeatus Bagnall , C. hamatus Trybom and C. manicatus Haliday from Europe, and C. frontalis Williams , possibly from southern Africa (although described from Argentina).