Thrips trehernei Priesner

Mound, Laurence A. & Masumoto, Masami, 2005, The genus Thrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand, Zootaxa 1020 (1), pp. 1-64 : 54

Thrips trehernei Priesner

Thrips trehernei Priesner, 1927: 356

Diagnosis: Body and legs brown, tarsi and apices of fore tibiae yellow; antennal segments III–V mainly yellow, VI yellow in basal half; forewings uniformly shaded. Antennae 7­ segmented; ocellar setae III arise outside ocellar triangle; postocular setae I twice as long as II & III. Pronotum with transverse markings on anterior half and about 20–24 discal setae. Mesonotum ( Fig. 100 ) with widely spaced lines of sculpture, but no lines close to anterior campaniform sensilla. Metanotum with irregular longitudinal reticulate­striate sculpture, median setae arise close to anterior margin, campaniform sensilla absent. Forewing first vein with 3 (or 4) setae on distal half, clavus with subterminal seta shorter than terminal seta. Abdominal tergite II with 3 lateral setae; tergite VIII comb complete but short and irregular; sternites III–VII with 8–12 discal setae. Male brown, sternites III– VII with broadly oval glandular area and about 4 discal setae posterolaterally.

Breeding: In Australia, this species has been found breeding only in dandelion flowers, that is, the flowers of Taraxacum vulgare . It apparently does not breed in the flowers of the more widespread species of Hypochaeris , all of which are also introduced to Australia and are commonly referred to as “dandelions” in this country.

Distribution: Widespread in North America and Europe ( Nakahara, 1994), this species has been found in Australia only at a few south­eastern localities ( Mound, 1998).

Relationships: This species is closely related to Thrips physapus L., the type species of the genus. They are very similar in structure and sculpture, but T. trehernei has abdominal tergite X more than 80 microns long, and the major setae on the body are longer than in T. physapus . The two species are most readily distinguished by the males, these being brown in T. trehernei but yellow in T. physapus . The record of T. physapus in New Zealand ( Mound & Walker, 1982) was a misidentification of T. trehernei .

Figures

FIGURES 96–105. Thrips species. T. tomeus 96–99: (96) Head & pronotum; (97) Meso­metanota; (98) Tergites VII–VIII; (99) Fore tarsus. T. trehernei (100) Meso­metanota. T. unispinus 101–102: (101) Head & pronotum; (102) Sternites VI–VII. T. vitticornis 103–104: (103) Meso­metanota; (104) Head & pronotum. T. vulgatissimus (105) Meso­metanota.