Distinguishing features

Female fully apterous. Body brown, paler on inner margins of fore femora and apex of antennal segment II; tube yellow in basal two-thirds. Head scarcely longer than wide; ocelli absent; compound eyes with only about 5 ommatidia ventrally; postocular setae long, fine; ocellar setae small; maxillary stylets wide apart, retracted to level of postocular setae; maxillary palp with a long sense cone at apex. Antennae 7-segmented with VI closely joined to VII; III with or without 1 sense cone, IV with 2 sense cones. Pronotum transverse; anteromarginal setae reduced; epimeral sutures incomplete; basantra and ferna present; mesopresternum and anterior margin of meso-eusternum strongly eroded. Mesonotum and metanotum transverse; metathoracic sternopleural sutures broad. Wing lobe absent. Pelta represented by a thin line close to tergite II; sternites II–IV without discal setae; tergites without sculpture; major setae long, slender; tergite IX posteromarginal setae longer than tube; tube shorter than head, scarcely constricted at apex.

Related species

The genus Priesneriella comprises 9 species, of which 4 are from southern Europe and the Mediterranean area, 3 from the southern U.S.A., and 1 from Teneriffe. P. gnomus is known from a single female collected in New Zealand, but this may have been introduced from elsewhere, because P. citricauda Hood has been taken both in California and in Western Australia. Priesneriella species are distinguished by the close union or even fusion of antennal segment VI to the fused segments VII and VIII. Contrary to the published descriptions (Mound & Palmer, 1983; Mound & Walker, 1986), the holotype of gnomus has both basantra and ferna on the prosternum.

Biological data

Collected from a dead branch of Griselina littoralis [Griselinaceae].

Distribution data

Known only from New Zealand (MC).

Family name

PHLAEOTHRIPIDAE, IDOLOTHRIPINAE

Species name

Priesneriella gnomus Mound & Palmer

Original name and synonyms

Priesneriella gnomus Mound & Palmer, 1983: 33

References

Mound LA & Palmer JM (1983) The generic and tribal classification of spore-feeding Thysanoptera (Phlaeothripidae: Idolothripinae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology 46: 1–174.

Mound LA & Walker AK (1986) Tubulifera (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Fauna of New Zealand 10: 1–140.