Family MELANTHRIPIDAE

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Introduction

Four genera worldwide are recognised in this Family (Moritz, Mound & Morris 2001; Mound & Tree 2020). Dorythrips Hood and Cranothrips Bagnall have Southern Hemisphere distributions, the former in South America and Western Australia, the latter in South Africa and Australia. According to Mound (2001), all species in the family appear to feed on and breed in flowers.

Diagnosis

Unlike members of the Thripidae, the ovipositor in female aeolothripids and melanthripids is upwardly curved, and the antennae always have nine segments. The most important difference between these two groups is that females in the Melanthripidae always have a pair of lobes on the posterior margin of sternite VII that each bear two setae and presumably represent the eighth sternite (Mound et al. 2008). Moreover, melanthripids have obliquely transverse sensoria around the apex of antennal segments III and IV, and many of the species bear long setae on the head and pronotum.

General References

Mound, L.A. 2002. Thrips and their host plants: new Australian records (Thysanoptera: Terebrantia). Australian Entomologist 29: 49-60

Mound, L.A., Fisher, N. & Paris, D. 2008. Thysanoptera classification. Web site XXXX.

Mound, L.A. & Tree, D.J. 2020. Thysanoptera Australiensis — Thrips of Australia. Lucidcentral.org, Identic Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia. https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/thrips_australia/index.html

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