Thrips insignis (Bianchi)

Mound, Laurence A. & Masumoto, Masami, 2005, The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand, Zootaxa 1020 (1), pp. 1-64 : 31-32

Thrips insignis (Bianchi)

Isochaetothrips insignis Bianchi, 1945: 274

Diagnosis: Body and legs yellow; antennal segments I, III and base of IV pale; forewings pale. Antennae 8­segmented; ocellar setae III arise on anterior margins of ocellar triangle close to first ocellus. Pronotum with postero­angular setae short. Metanotum reticulate with no marking inside the reticles ( Fig. 43 ), median setae well behind anterior margin, campaniform sensilla present. Forewing first vein with complete row of setae. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral setae; tergite VIII comb complete with long fine microtrichia; sternite II with 6 posteromarginal setae; sternites with no discal setae. Male similar to female, sternites III–VII with small oval glandular area medially.

Breeding: The host is not known, although a few specimens of both sexes have been collected from the flowers of the orchid Eriaxis rigida ( Bournier & Mound, 2000) .

Distribution: Endemic to New Caledonia.

Relationships: This is a member of the Thrips obscuratus group ( Mound, 2005) found in New Caledonia and New Zealand. The eight species involved have three, instead of two, pairs of posteromarginal setae on the second abdominal sternite.

Figures

FIGURES 38–47. Thrips species. T. imaginis 38–41: (38) Head & pronotum; (39) Sternites VI–VII; (40) Pleurotergites IV–VI; (41) Meso­metanota. T.safrus (42) Pleurotergites IV–VI. T. insignis (43) Meso­metanota. T. knoxi 44–48: (44) Head & pronotum; (45) antennal segments IV–VIII; (46) Sternites III–IV; (47) Meso­metanota; (48) tergites VII–VIII.