Aeolothrips hartleyi

Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Both sexes fully winged. Body and legs uniformly brown; antennal segment III yellow with apical margin slightly shaded, segments II and IV brown; fore wings with posterior margin dark except for base and apex, and with one sub-basal transverse dark band. Head with no long setae; pronotal posteromarginal setae not stouter than pronotal discal setae. Fore tarsus apically with stout recurved ventral hamus. Antennae 9-segmented, segment III with short linear sensorium, IV with sensorium scarcely 0.5 as long as segment and slightly curved at apex, V–IX forming a single unit with V longer than VI–IX. Metanotal sculpture forming slightly elongate reticulation. Marginal setae on sternites arising at or close to margin; sternite VII supernumerary paired setae arising well in front of margin.

Male without paired tubercles on tergites IV–V; tergite IX with bifurcate clasper but without a stout curved seta laterally; antennal segment III fuscous not yellow.

Related and similar species

A. hartleyi is a member of a species-complex in which the forewing bears a longitudinal dark area along the posterior margin, with or without a transverse area as well. Most of the species in this group are from North America. The female of A. hartleyi is similar to that of A. crucifer, but the male lacks tubercles on the abdominal tergites. Just over 90 species are placed currently in the genus Aeolothrips, of which more than 50 are from the Palaearctic Region (mainly Europe), and 28 from the Nearctic (mainly western USA). Only two species are recorded from the Neotropics; the one from Chile is probably the same as A. fasciatus, and one from Panama is probably not a member of this genus (Mound & Marullo, 1996).

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Aeolothrips hartleyi Moulton

Original name and synonyms

• Aeolothrips hartleyi Moulton, 1927: 185

Family placement

Aeolothripidae

Biological data

Life history

Presumably a facultative predator in flowers, with a mixed diet of pollen and the larvae of other thrips.

Host plants

Swept from a range of wild plants, with no information on any specificity.

Tospoviruses vectored

None

Crop damage

None

Distribution data

Area of origin

USA

Distribution

California, Nevada, Utah and New York.