Family THRIPIDAE

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Family THRIPIDAE

Compiler and date details

July 2008 - Updated by L.A. Mound

Introduction

Nearly 2000 species are included in this family, in about 280 genera. Four sub-families are recognised, Panchaetothripinae, Dendrothripinae, Sericothripinae and Thripinae, all of which are represented by endemic Australian taxa. The Panchaetothripinae is a group of about 130 species in 40 genera, and these usually dark brown species commonly feed on older leaves not apical leaves (Wilson 1975). The Dendrothripinae includes 11 extant genera and about 90 species, all of which are leaf-feeding (Mound 1999). The Sericothripinae comprises three ill-defined genera and about 140 species, some of which live on leaves but others in flowers. The Thripinae includes the remaining 1600 species in 230 genera, and these comprise all the well-known flower- and grass-living thrips (Mound & Palmer 1972; Pitkin 1972, 1978; Mound & Masumoto 2005), as well as many small species associated with leaves and buds (Hoddle & Mound 2003).

The Australian Thripidae fauna remains poorly known, with considerable numbers of native species in the Sericothripinae and Thripinae yet to be described. Across most of the cultivated areas of Australia and their associated weeds, the family is represented mainly by introduced taxa. Only in relatively undisturbed areas of native vegetation are the endemic Thripidae found in large numbers.

Diagnosis

Most thripid species have antennae of seven or eight segments, although members of Anaphothrips commonly have segment VI subdivided to produce a nine-segmented condition. The forewings are usually slender, and they are rarely strongly pigmented, but many species are wingless. Females have the ovipositor curved downwards, and males often have glandular areas on their sternites.